


I failed to Mention

by Archivist613



Category: Justified
Genre: Child Abuse, F/M, Flashbacks, Gen, Kid Fic, Original Character(s), Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-03
Updated: 2013-06-05
Packaged: 2017-12-04 03:11:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 41,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/705850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archivist613/pseuds/Archivist613
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A family of original characters has ties to Raylan and Boyd’s past, flashbacks ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_March 1985, Harlan_

 

Raylan hated a lot of things; Arlo, Kentucky, and biology. Some may have said he was being dramatic lumping together his asshole of a father and Harlan county in with plant cells. Right now though he was certain whatever God that was there, had it out for Raylan Givens. He didn’t mind school not really, and he sure as shit intended to graduate. Right now, he was a freshman and that seemed a long ways away. He was focused on the here and now. Right now, Mrs. Mosely had assigned a group project. He hated group projects, no one did their share and he usually ended up doing the whole project by himself and getting a B-. He especially hated it when the teacher assigned the groups and the topic.

His topic was plant cells. His group was Eleanor Reed and Boyd Crowder. Eleanor always seemed like a nice enough girl, kept to herself, he couldn’t remember ever talking to her. She was of average height with brown mousy hair, plain and unobtrusive. On the other hand, he had made a concentrated effort over the years not to talk to Boyd Crowder in any capacity. Boyd seemed nice enough. He was a strange looking kid, not tall, skinny as a rail and his black hair stuck up like someone had electrocuted him. He looked nothing like his father. Everyone gave him a wide berth. Raylan just didn’t want to know the kid, knowing who his is father was bad enough.

Once the teacher finished handing out the assignment they exchanged awkward glances and gathered their stuff as slowly as possible in an attempt to delay the inevitable. They met over at Eleanor’s desk.

“Hi” she greeted them timidly. Raylan carefully read the assignment and didn’t exchange pleasantries.

            “Raylan, you want to tell the rest of us what the assignment is?” Boyd asked him softly. Raylan looked up to notice he was the only one that had been given a handout. Apparently they were on a first name basis now; he couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes.

            “Our topic is plant cells. We need to make a poster detailing everything on the inside of a cell and present it to the class in…” he searched the paper for a date “shit, we only got two weeks.” Raylan grimaced. Eleanor was flipping through the textbook to find the relevant passages. She opened it to a green square cut open to see tiny geometric figures on the inside.

“How detailed do you think this has to be?”

“Probably wants it copied, word for word” Raylan muttered.

“I’ll bring in a poster; do you guys want to meet at the library after school sometime?” Boyd suggested.

“It looks like we ain’t gonna work on it in class” Raylan huffed.

“How about Friday?” Eleanor suggested.

“Works for me” Boyd said.

“Does Harlan even have a library?” Raylan knew he was whining at this point.  They both looked at him like he was some kind of dumbass. “Friday it is.” Did he mention he hated Fridays too?

Raylan didn’t speak to them for the rest of the week. When Friday rolled around he took his sweet time dragging his feet the whole way to the library. When he arrived they were tucked in a back corner. Eleanor was drawing the planet cell on the poster board and Boyd was scribbling something in a notebook.

“Hey”

“You’re late” Boyd said.

“Yeah” was Raylan’s laconic response.

“When she’s done, you need to copy these definitions onto the poster.” Boyd slid a paper to his side of the table.

“And what are you doing?” Raylan asked.

“Writing the paper” he answered.

They worked in a companionable silence. Raylan had to admit it was nice to work with people who knew how to keep their mouths shut. They worked well together and finished in just under three hours.

“You guys want to get a burger or something, I’m not quite ready to go home yet” Boyd asked when they were packing up.

“Me neither” Raylan admitted. Eleanor gave them a look, like she was reading between the lines; she understood what they were talking about. Everyone in Harlan knew that Arlo beat his wife and only son; it wasn’t a stretch of the imagination to guess Bo wasn’t much better.

“Sounds like fun” it was the first time she smiled, it lit up her face, made her pretty. They walked to MacDonald’s; Boyd bought everyone a hamburger and a soda. Raylan accepted it only because he didn’t have any money on him and he ate the burger, paid for with drug money.

“I’m glad we got that project out of the way” Eleanor started the conversation with the only thing we knew about each other, sides the gossip.

“Yeah, now I got time to focus on math” Raylan said when it seemed like the silence stretched on a little too long. Eleanor gave him a small smile. Boyd was too focused on the food to make a comment.

“I’m pretty good at algebra; I can help you out if you want. Mr. Kane isn’t good at explaining it.”

“So it’s not just me then?”

“No, I think it’s everyone, what about you Boyd?” now that the son of a criminal was done shoving greasy hamburgers down his throat, she again tried to include him in the conversation.

“I prefer the readings, but I do alright in arithmetic” was his answer.

“You mean the readings in English class?” Eleanor asked. Boyd had a funny way of talking sometimes.

“And for leisure”

“What kind of books do you like?” Eleanor had lit up at the mention of books.

“Anything I can get my hands on” He said.

“I like fiction; I can forget my life for a little while” She explained.

“I’ve been going through Hemingway’s works recently” Boyd admitted, happy to find a kindred spirit.

That’s how Raylan met the only other people in his class that gave a shit about school and just maybe, getting out of Harlan.

***

Things started to change at school, nothing drastic. He nodded to Boyd in the hallway and sat with Eleanor at lunch. He joined the baseball team. He wouldn’t go so far as to say he had become part of the community or shit like that but, he liked school a little better each day.

“Hey” he sat down at the lunch table on Monday.

“Hey” Eleanor said back, some days she was quiet and other days she couldn’t take the silence. “So my cousin Teddy is getting out of jail tomorrow.” She said. One good thing about never talking to people for years is when you finally do talk, there’s years worth of material to go through. They were on the topic of comparing wayward family members. This particular subject had sustained lunch table discussion for almost a month.

“He’s not going to be staying with your folks is he?”

“Only till he gets on his feet, I’m guessing a month ‘fore mama kicks him out.” Eleanor grimaced. Eleanor lived with her mother, brother, and Uncle Tim in a two bedroom house. Her and her brother both had their own couches to sleep on. She was embarrassed about her home life, but they didn’t hurt her so she supposed it was better than some.

“He was in for drug possession, right?”

“Yeah, Teddy has always been a partier, nice guy though.” She said, “I guess he’ll be sleeping on the floor somewhere, you would think he would have friends, friendly as he is”

“Maybe he’ll reconnect and they’ll offer him a place to stay”

“I hope so”

“Hello, may I join your table?” Boyd Crower was standing next to the empty seat. Boyd had never sat with them.

“Sure” Eleanor reached over and pulled out the seat so he could sit down.

“Forgive me for intruding but, I just heard Robby tell Sam that there were only two continents.” Boyd looked physically pained at the stupidity of their peers.

“Well what are they?” Raylan just had to ask.

“America and Europe”

“Well, then I guess Australia would be a part of Europe, but how would you explain Antarctica.” Eleanor was actually trying to figure out how someone could arrive at this logic.

“No one lives on Antarctica so that doesn’t count” Raylan supplied.

“Good point, which must be how he arrived at that conclusion.” Eleanor looked pleased to figure out the logic process of their classmates. Boyd just looked amused.


	2. Chapter 2

_April, 1985 Harlan_

After baseball season ended the team threw a party at Johnny Crowder’s house. There was going to be alcohol, Kenny whispered to Raylan on the day before the “party of the century” and told Raylan to invite all the girls he knew. He knew that Kenny had meant all the hot girls that practically followed him around but, the only girl he didn’t mind spending time with was Eleanor. She didn’t seem like the partying type but, she would probably appreciate the invitation. He was sure someone else would take care of inviting the hot girls.

“You want to go to Johnny’s party on Saturday?” he asked as soon as he sat down at the table. She looked up at him, blinking.

“You’re inviting me to a party?” Eleanor seemed confused.

“Yeah, if you don’t want to go it’s cool”

“I want to go, I was just surprised, and you may have noticed, I’m not one of the cool kids.” She leaned forward to whisper.

“Neither am I”                                                             

“Raylan, you play a sport and you’re ridiculously handsome, that’s like the definition of cool kid.” She said matter of fact

“You think I’m handsome?” he smiled flirtatiously.

“Everyone does” she rolled her eyes.

“No they don’t.” he protested.

“Boyd, do you think Raylan is handsome” Eleanor asked as soon as Crowder had walked up to his spot at the table. He blinked in confusion at the question “can’t you see him staring in a movie or something?” Eleanor added to make the question less awkward.

“Um… I suppose I can imagine him starring in a movie out in Hollywood.”

“Like James bond” Eleanor added.

“I’d rather a western” Raylan said thoughtfully.

“You’d look good in a cowboy hat; have to learn to ride a horse though, you would probably fall on your ass.” Boyd added.

“You would look ridiculous in a western, swaggering around.” Eleanor said.

“I would be cool, better than John Wayne even.” Raylan tried to convince them.

“no one’s cooler than John Wayne” Boyd said with a tone of finality.

 “Are you going to this party?” Eleanor turned to Boyd, switching gears.

“Yes”

“You are?” Raylan asked.

“Where do you think they get the alcohol” Boyd smiled mischievously.

“I guess I’ll see you both there” Eleanor seemed excited at the prospect.

“Do you need a ride?” Boyd asked her.

“Actually, yeah that would be great” she turned her smiled towards him.

 

 

The party was Saturday night at seven. Raylan arrived a half hour late at the party, it’s not like he wanted to be there anyway. Apparently he should have waited later. no one was in sight. Should he knock? Kenny had mentioned something about the backyard. Raylan walked around the small home to the back yard. Johnny was there, it was his house after all, and Eleanor was talking to him. Boyd wasn’t in sight but, Raylan assumed he was there. Johnny caught sight of him and beckoned him over. Johnny was two years older but Raylan liked him well enough, better than the rest of the team anyways. They were sitting on the steps of the back porch.

“Where is everyone?” he asked.

“Fashionably late” Eleanor supplied.

“That’s a thing?”

“Apparently” she replied. Boyd came out of the house then, carrying three beers.

“Raylan you’re early, do you want one?” Raylan raised an eyebrow when he passed a bud light to Eleanor.

“What, I can’t be shy and drink beer?” she said defensively.

“I didn’t” he ran a hand through his hair; he didn’t mean to make assumptions. “I’ll take a beer” Boyd scurried back into the house.

“So what, we just sit around and wait till everyone else shows up?” Raylan asked. Johnny shrugged. That’s exactly what they ended up doing. They moved into the kitchen so they could all sit. Johnny’s parents weren’t home which was good because there was a shocking amount of beer, bourbon, and moonshine piled on every available surface of the kitchen.

“Where did you get all this?” Raylan just couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh, here and there” Boyd seemed way too pleased with himself.

“Could you be any more vague” Raylan just shook his head.

By the time everyone else showed up, about an hour later, the four of them were a little tipsy. Johnny was flirting with Eleanor who flirted back good naturedly but, she made it clear she had no interest in taking it any further. They moved back outside with the intent to mingle. After Raylan said hello to various classmates he found himself talking to Boyd. They were having an intense discussion of various country songs. Boyd insisted that Johnny Cash was by far the greatest artist. Raylan didn’t have time to construct a convincing counter argument before Stacey and two other cheerleaders came up to them and started talking to Raylan and then giggling at everything he said.

At this point Boyd excused himself and promptly ditched Raylan. Stacey immediately jumped into the spot directly next to Raylan he had just vacated. They two friends drifted off at some point but Raylan didn’t really notice; Stacey was rubbing his thigh.

“I’ve been to every single one of your games, I cheer you on” Stacy purred. Sometime later, they snuck off behind the house and Raylan got to second base. They were interrupted form going further when they heard cheering.

They snuck back to the party to investigate the cheers, discreetly straightening clothing. Boyd had built a bonfire that was probably too big and Johnny’s mom was going to be pissed. Right now though, it was pretty cool. Boyd was grinning manically and let out a wild yell. He was loose and happy, face aglow with the fire. It was the most relaxed Raylan had ever seen his friend. Since when did he consider Boyd a friend? They were friends though, that he knew. he left Stacey and went into the kitchen to grab another drink. The party continued to well after midnight. Several people had left; others were passed out in the house, on the yard.

Raylan was having another drink, he had lost count, but it was a lot. Eleanor appeared next to him and took the cup out of his hand.

“Hey, that’s mine” he protested and tried to reach for it. He lost his balance and stumbled a bit before grabbing on to Eleanor to steady himself.

“You’ve had enough”

“Yeah okay” he admitted, Eleanor didn’t lie.

“Why don’t you sit down?” She led him to the bonfire and dumped him in a chair. “You have a ride home?”

“No” he had just been planning to pass out in Johnny’s backyard; if Eleanor was cutting him off he might not get to the actual passing out part. Eleanor sat down on the ground next to him, quietly sipping her drink, she had been doing that all night but she didn’t look drunk at all. She seemed content to just watch the people. He had never sat down to watch people before. He supposed he should try it, it’s not like he had enough motor control to do anything else.

It was interesting at least. Stacey was in the corner making out with some guy he didn’t know but, seemed much older than them. Johnny was lying on his porch passed out, overturned cup by his hands. Boyd was talking to a senior named Danny, they both seemed angry about something. Boyd saw him watching and made eye contact and then used that as an excuse to get away from Danny. Boyd was almost to the bonfire when Danny came up behind Boyd and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around.

“Hey, I wasn’t finished talking to you” Danny yelled.

“I don’t have anything to say to you Danny.” Boyd replied calmly, he words a little slurred.

“Your shithole of a father broke my uncle’s leg!” Danny yelled, gripping Boyd’s arm tightly.

“That’s my father’s business, not mine” Boyd said. Danny, easily twice the size of Boyd, didn’t seem to care and punched him. Boyd went down. They had an audience now. Boyd lurched drunkenly to his feet. Danny didn’t wait for him to regain his balance, his fist connected with Boyd’s jaw a second time. The crack made Raylan grimace as he watched Boyd crumple to the ground. Danny kicked him in the gut for good measure before slipping back into the watching crowd. Now that the action was over the Harlan county high school students turned away from their fallen. Raylan hauled himself to his feet and offered Boyd a hand. He looked up at him in stunned confusion, blood smearing over his teeth. Boyd’s long sleeved shirt had ridden up to reveal his stomach. Raylan stared; Boyd’s stomach was covered in old bruises. He saw that he noticed and quickly pulled his shirt back down to cover it. he took the offered hand and Raylan helped him up.

“Are you ready to go?” Eleanor had appeared next to them.

“Yeah” Boyd brought a hand up to dab at his bloody lip. They turned to walk to wherever they parked. Eleanor stuck close to Boyd’s side in case he lost his balance. Raylan wasn’t sure why but he followed them. Boyd’s old truck was parked in a nearby field. Boyd probably shouldn’t have been driving, he was pretty drunk still, and he was only fifteen.

“They don’t give Johnny shit for being a Crowder” Boyd mumbled around his split lip.

“You don’t get to choose who you are.” Eleanor said softly.

“You just get punished for it.” Raylan spoke up from the cramped backseat.


	3. Chapter 3

_June, 1985 Harlan_

 

Raylan complained about school a lot, what kid didn’t? After one full week of summer vacation he missed it already. Last night Arlo had been in a rage. His mother had packed her little bag and gone to Nobles holler. He wished for once she would stay gone. He hated to see his mama with bruises littered on her face. He could feel his own rage churning around inside. He hated that he was angry, just like Arlo. Raylan tossed the empty ‘shine jars in the trash can and fixed some breakfast for himself. Arlo was in the living room sleeping one off. Maybe he wouldn’t wake up. Raylan took the cereal upstairs to his room. By mid afternoon he heard Arlo shuffling around downstairs, which was a disappointment. He stayed in his room to avoid him even though there was nothing to do.

Raylan was lost in thought when he heard a knock on the front door. He went downstairs and saw Arlo standing at the door in a stained wife beater, the irony, and his underwear.

“What the fuck are you doing here? Working for your daddy no doubt” Arlo hissed like a venomous snake.

“Is Raylan here?” Boyd somehow managed to sound polite, and what the hell was he doing here?

“He ain’t, now get out of here” Arlo made a shooing gesture as if Boyd was a stray dog.

“Arlo, why don’t you go sleep it off.” Raylan came up behind Arlo and smiled politely at Boyd. Surprisingly enough the old man just snapped his jaw shut and shuffled back into the house without another comment.

“What are you doing here Boyd?” Raylan didn’t mean to sound that rude. He wished they could just be kids asking parents if the other could come out to play.

“I wanted to invite you to go fishing with us this afternoon, unless you are otherwise engaged.

“Us?” Raylan questioned.

“Eleanor didn’t want to meet your daddy”

“No one does” Raylan replied. “I’ll go, but I don’t have a pole.”

“Eleanor had an extra”

“Great” Raylan closed the door behind him and followed Boyd to the truck, eager to leave the house. Eleanor was in the passenger seat with her feet on the dash. Raylan crawled into the backseat, forcing his long legs into the tight spot.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for the smallest person to be in the smallest seat?” Raylan said to her.

“I brought the fishing poles and the food so I get to sit in which ever seat I want.” She retorted.

“Did you bring any bait?” Raylan asked.

“Nope”

“Then how are we supposed to go fishing?”

“Dig up a worm, Raylan”

“I don’t like to get my hands dirty”

“Are you children done?” Boyd asked. Hand poised over the steering wheel.

“We’re never going to get any fishing done if you don’t drive” Raylan said. Boyd rolled his eyes and pulled out onto the road. They drove for awhile. They had left pavement behind and Boyd drove through a series of grassy overgrown roads that a truck barely squeezed through. They ended up at a lake that Raylan had never been to and couldn’t tell you how to get there again. It was beautiful, scenic, nestled in the woods as it was. The only sign a human had ever been there was a wooden dock, decaying and splintered.

Eleanor got the fishing gear out of the bed and put it on the ground. Next she pulled out a large beach bag that was stuffed with towels and lastly she pulled out a cooler. Eleanor was the only one wearing a bathing suit under her clothes, which she then took off. Raylan was trying really hard not to think about his friend in that way. Boyd and Raylan just took off their shoes and left them by the truck. They carried all the stuff she had brought out to the dock. Eleanor spread out a towel on the edge of the dock and sat down.

“What? I don’t want to get splinters in my ass.” She responded when Raylan gave her a look.

“I didn’t say anything” Raylan said. He stepped forward so that his bare feet where on the towel, he didn’t want to spend the night pulling splinters out either. “Hey, is this lake deep enough to swim?” Raylan asked, peering over the dock at its depths. He didn’t get an answer but, Boyd shoved him foreword. Raylan fell; flailing his arms, and hit the water with a loud splash and went under. He came back up spluttering and wiping the water out of his eyes. Peals of laughter came at him from the direction of the dock.

“you!” he turned his most menacing glare to Boyd and wanted to say something along the lines of ‘you’ll pay for this’ but, couldn’t think of anything that didn’t sound cliché. He swam toward the shore. The bottom of the lake was muddy and gross. He trudged up to the dock, wet jeans making a gross slapping noise. Their laughter stopped. He turned to Eleanor first because she was like a hundred pounds tops, easy to toss into the water. Eleanor turned and dived into the lake before he could do it. Boyd was standing on the edge with his arms crossed against his chest defiantly, smirking. The bastard. Eleanor swum out farther to ensure that she would not be caught up in whatever was about to go down.

Raylan figured it would be near impossible to get Boyd into the water without the element of surprise so he went for a more straightforward approach, the tackle. Boyd looked surprised in the moment their bodies collided and sent the both of them reeling forward and into the water. Underwater Raylan propelled himself away from Boyd and came up for air. He was promptly shoved back down again. The hands released him and he bobbed back to the surface. He looked around to find Eleanor laughing and Boyd still smirking. He watched warily but Boyd didn’t seem to be plotting retaliation.  Then again, plotting without anyone knowing was sort of his specialty.

They swam for a bit, which was really uncomfortable in jeans. The sun was beating down on them the whole time, not a cloud in the sky. When they grew tired they finally got out and Raylan took off his shirt and wrung it from the dock. Eleanor pulled out sandwiches from the cooler. Raylan sat down on one of the towels and tried to make himself comfortable in stiff wet jeans.

“Raylan, just take your pants off” Eleanor said after watching him fidget for several minutes. Raylan looked at her in surprise and he felt his cheeks grow warm and hoped she couldn’t tell.

“I get that all the time” he tried to go for seductive but he couldn’t hide his embarrassment.

“Fine be uncomfortable.”

“I’m fine.”

Evening started to fall before the friends decided to leave. Raylan was dropped off first. They made plans to go back the next Saturday; he was sort of looking forward to it. It was nearing dark when Raylan walked back into his house. He shut the screen door gently and moved quietly to the stairs, hoping Arlo wouldn’t even notice him.

“You friends with that Crowder boy now?” the snarl came from behind him. He jumped.

“He just here to collect, all them Crowder’s are.”

“What are you talking about Arlo?”

“Looking for an angle, he just going to use you” Arlo had a glazed look in his eye that meant he was about to pass out.

“You’re the one that owes Bo money, not me”

“Here to collect” Arlo swayed drunkenly.

“We're just kids going fishing, I don’t owe him anything.” Raylan walked up the stairs. A thump sounded on the first floor, telling him Arlo was out for the night. Raylan didn’t go to check on him.

 


	4. Chapter 4

_August 1985 Harlan_

 

Going fishing at the lake became a weekly thing, every Saturday afternoon. After a couple of trips that consisted of actual fishing it became obvious that there were no fish in the lake. It didn’t matter; they still came unless it was raining.

 

The first Saturday in August, Boyd Crowder called the residence of Arlo Givens to talk to Raylan. Thank God he was the one to answer the phone.

“Hello Raylan, I’m feeling a little under the weather today so I can’t go to the lake.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Raylan asked, he didn’t sound sick just tired.

“I’m ill, Raylan, do you want me to describe vomit in detail?”

“No, gross, I was just concerned.”

“Well, thank you for your concern Raylan” they said their goodbyes.

Raylan hadn’t noticed how much he looked forward to their Saturdays at the lake until they didn’t happen. Raylan didn’t see Boyd that week at all which was odd. He usually ran into him in town or at some classmate’s party. He saw Eleanor at the party though. She hadn’t seen Boyd either. When he called to cancel again the next Saturday they were worried. They decided to go talk to him. Raylan borrowed Arlo’s truck and went to pick up Eleanor. Ms. Reed smiled at him when she opened the door.

“Raylan come on in, how’s your momma doing?” she enquired.

“The same as always” Raylan said, he could never say she was doing good.

“Well, why don’t you come and have lunch with us”

“That’s awful kind of you but, I’m here to see Eleanor.

“I know, she going to be eating lunch too.”

“I guess I could stay” he smiled fondly at the woman. He had always liked Eleanor’s mom, she was warm and friendly, the way mothers should be. She wore her grey-brown hair in a bun and her clothes were always brightly colored. They were just having sandwiches, so Raylan helped her make them. Eleanor was in the shower. Uncle Tim was working, at the mines. Eleanor’s little brother Jacob came in from the yard all sweaty when they were just about done.

“So Ellie tells me that you play baseball” Ms. Reed asked politely.

“Yeah”

“You enjoy it?”

“I guess it gives me something to do, focus on”

“Ellie tells me you’re the best on the team.”

“Well you may not have noticed this but, she doesn’t know anything about baseball.” He said. Ms. Reed threw he head back and laughed. It was a warm and friendly laugh, the kind that made you want to laugh with her.

“The boys are always trying to teach her about sports, she just doesn’t understand it.”

“What don’t I understand?” Eleanor walked in at that moment, towel wrapped around her hair.

“Raylan was just telling me that he isn’t the best baseball player on the team.” Her eyes sparked with mischief.

“Well, I didn’t say that” Raylan protested. A ham sandwich was put in front of him.

“I had to say he’s the best, he’s sensitive.”

“I’m not sensitive”

“So what are you two, going to get up to today?”

“We haven’t seen Boyd in a while so we’re going to visit him.” Eleanor said. At that her mom turned away with a disapproving frown. Raylan saw this and sent a questioning look at Eleanor.

“She doesn’t like that I’m friends with Bo Crowder’s son.” Eleanor explained. “Even though Boyd’s nothing like his father” she said for her mother’s benefit.

“Why don’t we just eat our lunch and enjoy each other’s company while we can.”

 

 

 

 After lunch they said goodbye and left, Raylan drove them to the Crowder’s house which he had only been to once when he was younger. Arlo had some business at Bo’s and he waited in the truck for over an hour. He never knew what had transpired.  He parked in front of the house. everyone assumed Bo was pretty wealthy, running all those drugs. If he was, you couldn’t tell by looking at the house. it was an old one story farm house. The paint had once been yellow he was told but it had faded to a sickly white that peeled. The yard was full of weeds. They were terrified Bo would answer the door. It was unlikely but, if he did it would be better that he saw Eleanor Reed on the doorstep instead of Raylan Givens. Eleanor bravely marched up the front steps and knocked. It was a smart move because Bo Crowder did indeed answer the door. He politely told Eleanor that Boyd wasn’t feeling well and would be pleased that she had stopped by. She said goodbye and walked to the truck, a little faster than her normal gait.

“I’m worried about him” Eleanor said as soon as they were out of sight of the house.

“I’m sure he’s fine” Raylan said without an ounce of sincerity.

“I’m going back tonight, and actually talk to Boyd.”

“What are you going to do? Throw a pebble at his window?”

“It’s a one story house; I’ll just tap on the window”

 

 

Because Raylan was a gentleman he couldn’t let Eleanor wander around the Crowder’s house at night alone. They wandered around town till it got dark then they went back. He parked down the street a bit. They walked quietly to the house. They kept to the shadows. Eleanor went around back, knowing which window was Boyd’s. She tapped on the glass a few times before the huddled mass on the bed started to move. She tapped again and Boyd got out of bed and came to the window.

“What are you doing here?” he whispered as soon as the window was opened. It seemed a little silly now that they could see Boyd was fine.

“We were worried” Eleanor said it anyway. Boyd’s face softened.

“What happened to your arm?” Raylan noticed that his left arm was in a sling.

“I fell” he said. His face hardened again.

“Really?” Eleanor didn’t buy that.

“You should go.” He moved to close the window.  Raylan put a hand on the window, halting its progress.

“Come on, you can talk to us” Raylan said. Boyd sighed and opened the window as far as it would go and climbed out of his room. His journey was slow and awkward with a broken arm. Raylan put a hand on his back to steady him. Boyd turned and closed the window part way so it was a little less obvious he had snuck out. The three of them walked to where Raylan had left the truck. They got in and he drove away looking for a safe place to park. He pulled over on a stretch of road.

“What happened?”

“He wanted me to do a run, just a delivery” Boyd said quietly

“Did you?” Raylan asked, jaw clenching.

“Yeah”

“You could have said no”

“Think I didn’t try that” Boyd moved his shoulder to bring attention to the broken arm.

“He broke your arm?” Eleanor interjected.

“Yes”

“Christ” Raylan muttered.

“I knew it would happen, I just couldn’t give in without a little bit of resistance” Boyd admitted.

“You should leave” Raylan advised.

“And go where Raylan, I’m almost sixteen, I have a piece of shit truck that barely runs and like thirty dollars in cash. Where would I go?”

“Wait till you’re eighteen at least”

“Raylan, he’s been grooming me to take over the family business my whole life, he’s not going to let me go.”

“What about Bowman, I mean, not that we want your little brother to take part in criminal enterprises but, why you? Why not one of his lieutenants?”

“Bowman’s good at football, daddy thinks he’ll get a scholarship and play for UK. He tells me I’m the only one smart enough to run the business, which is flattering I suppose.”

“Jesus, Boyd if anything you’re _too_ smart to run the business.” Eleanor said.

“My daddy’s got his fingers in a lot of pies; it’ll catch up with him soon. I figure he’ll be dead in the next five years and then I’ll be free.”

“Boyd” Raylan wanted to say something but he couldn’t think of what it was.

“There’s nothing to say Raylan, this is the way it has to be, the way it was always going to be” Boyd sounded detached, resigned to his own fate.

 


	5. Chapter 5

_January 1986, Harlan_

 

Someone owed Bo a protection payment, Boyd knew who it was but, wanted to give them some more time to get it. His father disagreed. Boyd didn’t make a sound. If Bowman woke up and saw, he did everything he could to protect his little brother from this.

“Get out of this house and don’t come back till I say so.” Bo didn’t raise his voice, he never did. He managed to sound menacing without the volume. Boyd was literally thrown out of the house. He picked himself up and stumbled to the truck. He didn’t know where he was going yet but he drove. He could go to his cousin Johnny’s but he didn’t want to bring them into this, this was between him and Bo. He drove out to the old Johnson farm, no one would bother him there and he could just stay in the truck. He blacked out sometime before he got there.

Cold. It was so cold, snow flurries danced along the windshield. What was he doing here? He wasn’t allowed back in the house. Why was it snowing, it wasn’t that cold earlier. Boyd had trouble focusing his thoughts. His truck didn’t have heat. Should he take his chances out on the road? If he froze to death he wouldn’t have to deal with his father anymore. On the other hand, he never pictured himself freezing to death on the side of the road. The truck wasn’t running anymore, maybe his battery had died. How long was he out anyway? His teeth chattered. He got out and started walking.

He walked for a time before noticing where he was. On the road that lead to the Given’s home. Raylan would not be pleased to see him. He kept walking anyway.  When he finally arrived at the house he was ready to collapse. Should he knock? It was the middle of the night. There was no guarantee that Raylan’s mother would be home, she might let him in. Arlo would leave him out here to freeze. No, he needed to talk to Raylan and only Raylan. He went to the front door, maybe it was unlocked. It wasn’t but, someone had forgotten to lock the back door. He did a quick search no one was awake and there were no bedrooms on the first floor. He moved to the stairs going slowly, these old house were loud. No one came out to see who was inside.

The first door was open a crack and Boyd could plainly see Francis Givens asleep. The next was door was ajar and it didn’t seem lived in. Raylan’s room was at the end. The door was closed, he opened it. His friend was asleep on his stomach, completely unaware. Boyd shook his shoulder to wake him.

“What?” Raylan spoke rather loudly in the silence of night.

“Raylan, you need to whisper.” Boyd shushed him.

“Boyd, what are you doing in my bedroom?” Raylan sat up to look at him.

“Um… my daddy kicked me out.”

“In the middle of the night, why?”

“Part of the business” Boyd looked away; he didn’t like his friends knowing what he did.

“Why’d you come here Boyd?”

“Truck broke down, your house was closest.”

“Jesus, you want to stay here tonight I guess.”

“It would be kind of you to offer”

“How did you get in here anyway, I can’t imagine my parents let you in.”

“The backdoor was unlocked.” Boyd admitted. Raylan huffed in annoyance and tossed him one of his pillows. He got up and rummaged around in his closet before coming up with a quilt.

“Thank you” Boyd whispered. He wrapped the blanket around himself and lay down on the floorboards. He sucked in a breath as his ribs were jostled. He hoped Raylan wouldn’t notice.

“Boyd”

“What”

“Are you hurt?” Raylan asked.

“It’ll keep till morning”

“You’re lucky it’s a Sunday”

 

 

Raylan woke up to a bundle of blankets on his floor, which was strange, and then it all came back to him. His parents would be pissed to know he had Boyd Crowder sleeping on his floor. He needed to get him out of here without them noticing. He tapped his friend with his foot. He heard a muffled grunt. He got out of bed and walked around to the other side of Boyd. His face was poking out of the blanket and holy shit. Boyd’s face was black and blue and dried blood was crusted around his nose.

“Morning” Boyd said. He seemed confused as to how he got to be on Raylan’s floor.

“What do you remember about last night?” Raylan asked. Boyd rolled his eyes.

“He didn’t hit me hard enough to knock it out.” Boyd sounded terribly annoyed. 

“How badly are you hurt?”

“I don’t know, judging from your expression it looks bad.”

“Yeah, it looks bad, what did he do to you?”

“He threw me out, said not to come back till he said I could. I was going to sleep in the truck but I passed out and the truck died and then it started snowing.”

“Christ, Boyd” Raylan shook his head like he didn’t want to be saddled with this knowledge.

“I’m sorry I brought this to your doorstep”

“No, it’s just, I’m glad you came here instead of freezing to death in your truck.”

“It seemed undignified.”

“Come on; let’s see how bad it is” Raylan made a waving hand gesture indicating he wanted Boyd to get up. His friend gingerly unraveled himself from the blankets. He looked awful, exhaustion just radiating off of him

“It’s just bruises, maybe a broken rib or two.” He said. What was bothering him about this whole thing was simply how causal Boyd was about the situation.

“I’m going to get a washcloth; you got blood on your face.” Raylan went down the hall to the bathroom. Sounds of his mother cooking came from downstairs. How was he going to get Boyd out of the house without Arlo knowing? Where the hell was he going to take him? Boyd would probably resist his help and just leave to go wander the streets by himself. Was it still snowing?  He peeked out the window. Yes, yes it was. He returned with a wet washcloth and pointed at his own nose to indicate where Boyd was bloody.

“I’m going to take you to Helen’s” he decided. “That’s where I go when it’s bad.”

“Raylan, thank you but, you’ve done more than enough. I’ll take my leave shortly.”

“It’s still snowing, your truck is broke and you can’t go home, where were you planning on going?”  Boyd looked away, searching for an answer.

“That’s what I thought.”

 

 

They lucked out. Raylan’s Mother went to the grocery that morning and Arlo was still asleep. As soon as the car left the driveway Raylan went up to get Boyd. He protested but, Raylan grabbed his arm and Boyd had no choice but to follow. They were out the door and on the road again in no time at all. On the way to Aunt Helen’s they passed by Boyd truck, resting in the embankment with a thin layer of snow. Boyd’s body could have been in there. He shuddered, what was it about this place? Raylan stood on the porch to Aunt Helen’s and knocked. What if she wouldn’t help Boyd? The door opened. Helen stared, appraising them from a distance.

“Come on in” she said finally, opening the door a little wider. Raylan stepped inside immediately, grateful for his Aunt Helen’s kindness. Boyd remained on the porch, staring at his feet. “You too, honey” Boyd looked up in surprise before sheepishly walking into the house.

“I didn’t know where else to go” Raylan started to explain.

“Your father do this to you?” Helen turned to Boyd.

“Yes Ma’am” Boyd stood in the corner.

“Sit down; I’ll fix you boys breakfast.”


	6. Chapter 6

_Present day: January, 2010 Richmond Virginia_

 

Ten years ago, Eleanor had married Daniel Williams. She already had two kids, Jake and Emily, and he had a boy from a previous marriage. They lived in the suburbs of Richmond Virginia. Dan worked in advertising while Eleanor worked as a paralegal. They had a nice routine. Eleanor would drive the kids to school on her way to work and Dan would pick them up on his way home. Jake was saving for his own car by working at the zoo. The twins were almost eighteen and would be going off to college soon. It was a nice, almost boring existence.

Eleanor loved to be bored. Dan had a different understanding of bored. He was worried about money, college was expensive. He worried a lot. The kids could take out loans sure but, they didn’t want them to start their adult lives with crippling debt. She had learned to always have a plan. Eleanor figured it was time she told them about the college fund. It wasn’t going to go over well. She told everyone to make it to dinner Friday night. They would do this as a family. She made that onion soup Emily liked so much. Jake walked past her on his way out to the garage.

“Jake, where are you going?” the dark-haired teenager was stopped by his mother’s commanding tone. He stopped next to the garage door, keys in hand.

“Tyler’s house, then we’re going to the game later” he reminded her.

“I told you tonight we’re having dinner as a family” his mother ignored him in favor of stirring the soup more than what was actually necessary.

“So, we do that all the time” Jake protested.

“You’re staying for dinner, tell Tyler you’ll meet him at the game.” his mom insisted.

“Mom!” Jake whined, perfecting the teenager stereotype.

“Sit at the table” the eighteen year old sulked and pulled out his phone to text his friend.

“What’s so special about tonight?”

“I have something to tell the family” she said evasively. Jake rolled his eyes. Colin came in to set the table just as Dan and Emily walked in. Dan and Colin talked amongst themselves about his day.

“I finished that English paper, so I have the rest of the weekend off. I was thinking we could go to the mall and pick up that game I told you about.” Colin said hopefully.

“I’m working, ask Emily to take you” Dan sipped his drink to avoid talking.

“Em, please” Colin turned his puppy dog eyes on his stepsister, blond hair falling in front of his eyes.

“No”

“Why not?”

“Jake has the car” Emily said.

“I’m working tomorrow, sorry” Jake frowned sympathetically at his stepbrother

“Mom” Colin turned to his stepmother in one last ditch effort.

“I’ll take you”

“Yes!”Colin did a strange cheering motion. The older twins shared a grimace at their little brother’s antics. Their mom brought the soup to the table and sat down. It was silent as everyone served themselves and side dishes were passed. Eleanor waited until everyone was eating before she began to talk.

“So, I know you two have been thinking about college, or at least I hope you have been” she started.

“Mom, are you seriously keeping me here to talk about college again? I have places to be you know.” Jake stood up scraping his chair loudly to make a point.

“Jake sit down” Eleanor bit out in a stern tone. Jake sat back down. “Since you’re so anxious to leave, I’ll just tell you the news, your father has set up a joint college fund for the both of you.” The twins turned to look at Dan, who just seemed confused. “Your biological father” she clarified. Their mother went back to eating her dinner as if this wasn’t a major revelation.

“Mom!” Emily yelped.

“Yeah” their mom looked up from her plate.

“You told us you didn’t know who our father was” Emily spoke hesitantly knowing she wasn’t going to like the answer.

“That was a lie” their mom said just as casually, the kids all looked to Dan who looked just as confused as they were.

“Honey, Ellie, what are you talking about?” Dan spoke cautiously.

“Well, who is it?” Emily asked, speaking over her stepfather.

“I’m not going to tell you that, I’m just telling you that there is a goodly sum put away and you two should plan on going to a good college and doing something with your lives.”

“He’s our dad we deserve to know a name at least” Emily was angry now.

“He’s not a good man, its best you don’t know, so let’s leave it at that okay?” Eleanor said.

“What do you mean by that?” Emily asked.

“I said leave it” Eleanor snapped.

“Ellie, why haven’t you mentioned this before” Dan looked perturbed.

“There’s nothing to talk about Dan”

“I think there is”

“Look, I know you're curious and I lied which was wrong.”

“And you did it anyway!” Emily exclaimed.

“It was easier to say I didn’t know who your father was than to explain to a child that he was never going to visit.”

“What did he do to make you hate him so much?” Emily asked.

“That’s the part I’m not talking about.” Eleanor made it clear she wasn’t going to talk about it.

 

It was a very tense dinner.

 

 

 

The next day Jake and Emily sat in Jake’s room, discussing their father. Jake didn’t want to discuss the subject, willing to trust that his mom would talk about it on her own time. He sat on his bed flipping through a magazine while Emily sat of the floor. She was angry about the lie.

 “She must hate him to pretend he doesn’t exist” Emily answered.

“Maybe he’s a millionaire that knocked up Mom and then left her.” Jake theorized.

“But, why pretend she had no idea who our father was, it just makes her sound like a whore.” Emily struggled to understand the secrecy.

“Well she pretends her whole life before us doesn’t exist either.” Jake said.

“That’s true; I’ve always wondered what was so awful about it.”

“I always thought child abuse, then you know she ran away to live with Aunt Bertie.” Jake admitted.

“I don’t like to think our grandparents were abusive.” Emily frowned and pulled at a black thread from his bedspread.

“Well what’s your theory?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know I’ve never really thought about it. Now that I am thinking about it, I really don’t know anything about Mom. Do you?”

“What do you mean?” Jake asked.

“I’ve never heard her speak about her childhood or parents or anything.” Emily seemed puzzled by her own lack of knowledge.

“One time when she was really drunk she started to talk about shine, and then switched to apple pie.” Jake answered. He hadn’t really thought about it but it was strange how little they knew about their mother.

“Moonshine?” Emily said skeptically.

“I guess, not sure what that means other than her preference for strong alcohol.”

“Who drinks moonshine anymore?” Emily scoffed.

“Is it strange we know like nothing about our own mother? I feel bad about that. Maybe we should ask her?” Jake said feeling guilty. “We’re so self-absorbed.”

 “I’m _going_ to ask her.” Emily said

“Maybe we should give her the benefit of the doubt.” Jake said.

“So what, you don’t want to know why our father is trying to do something for us after nearly eighteen years of radio silence?” Emily questioned.

“Maybe he wanted to meet us but, Mom wouldn’t let him.” Jake suggested.

“We’re not kids anymore Jake, we deserve to know these things” Emily couldn’t just let it go.

“Why don’t you wait a while to ask, let her get used to the idea of us knowing about her past?” Jake suggested; always the calmer of the two.

“Okay, I’ll wait.” Emily agreed. The silence stretched. “But, I’m glad at the same time you know, I knew we couldn’t afford anything better than community college” Emily admitted.

“You could take out loans.” Jake offered.

“And be in debt for the rest of my life, no thanks” Emily said.

“Come on it’s not that bad, you’re smart, you’ll get scholarships.” Jake encouraged.

“You would too if you actually applied yourself in class” Emily told her brother.

“It’s so boring” Jake whined.

“I wonder how much is in the college fund.”

“Mom told me it was fifty grand” Jake said.

“Shit, that’s a lot of money. I mean it’s not enough for what I’m thinking but, twenty five each will put a nice dent in it” Emily seemed excited.

“What are you thinking?”

“I want to go to pharmacy school, I’m thinking about the University of Kentucky.”

“Kentucky?”

“It’s one of the best pharmacy schools.” She defended.

“What’s there to do in Kentucky?”

“It’s Lexington, not the boonies” She explained. Emily walked out of her brother’s room to work on college applications, they were very time consuming.

The atmosphere in the house was really tense.  Emily knew her own anger was a contributing factor but, she couldn’t help being angry. She had spent a lot of time wondering about her father and knowing she could never find out. To learn that her mom had information about him was exciting but, she didn’t talk. She just insisted he was “a bad man” which could mean anything. Emily stayed in her room all day to avoid her mom and didn’t come out until dinner. Colin was chattering about some girl in his class. He looked anxiously at his parents; they hadn’t talked to each other all day. Colin started up another explanation of what he was doing in science class. When Colin ran out of things to say the table got really quiet. Their parents still not making eye contact. Emily decided to talk to them about her plans for college.

 “So I’ve been thinking about college” she started awkwardly.

“Yeah” Dan looked up at her and smiled for the first time that day.

“I want to go to pharmacy school, University of Kentucky is the closest and it’s ranked fifth in the nation” Emily said.

“That’s great honey very in demand, good money in pharmacy. I have a cousin that’s a pharmacist; you could talk to him about it.”

“That would be great.” Dan looked so proud of her.

“That’s in another state.” Colin said. He looked a little perturbed as though it had never occurred to him his step-siblings would leave town.

“I know but, I think I need to go” Emily admitted

“Of course that’s great honey” Dan said. Their mom echoed the sentiment but, she had this grimace underneath her smile and Emily had no idea what to think about that.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clarify; present day in this fic is season two of Justified. So Winona and Raylan are together, Boyd is at the mine and living at Ava’s. Since season two continues after season one, I’m going to assume that the year is still 2010.

_April 2010, Lexington KY_

 

 

The whole family took a weekend off to make the drive from Richmond, Virginia to Lexington, Kentucky to visit the college campus. It was an eight hour drive. Emily fell in love with the campus, certain she was going to go there. She was trying to convince Jake to go here with her. He didn’t seem interested, so then she talked about how University of Louisville had a great engineering program and that was only like an hour away. He seemed to want to stay closer to home. Dan was so proud that his stepdaughter was so interested in college and was smart enough to hopefully get scholarships. Eleanor on the other hand had been subdued the entire time, grumbling about how she didn’t like being in Kentucky.

That night they went out to dinner before going back to their hotel. Emily chattered excitedly about her plans for her dorm room.

“I’m not buying you a TV” he mom said as soon as she mentioned.

“Just a little one”

“Wait till you get a roommate and then you can discuss it, maybe she will have a TV to bring.” Dan suggested.

“What about a car,” Emily suggested causally. “I know they’re expensive but, I don’t want to be stuck on campus. If I get a job I’ll need a car and to go home obviously.” Emily knew it would take a lot of convincing.

“We’ll think about it” Dan said.

“I’ll get a job and I’ll apply for every scholarship I can find. I want to do this as cheaply as possible.” She said.

“Well your first two years will be paid for with this college fund, so I think we could swing for a car, a cheap one.” Dan said.

“Dad, I don’t want to use the college fund” Emily admitted. She was surprised to find that she had called Dan her dad, she rarely did that. It seemed to be happening more often.

“Why not?” Dan seemed surprised.

“I don’t want to use the money; all Mom says is that he’s a bad man. I don’t know what that means and I don’t want the man’s money.”

 “Emily, stop being so dramatic” her mom entered the conversation.

“I’m serious, Jake can have the whole thing, I don’t want my share.” Emily said, looking over to Jake for support. He didn’t meet her gaze. Her mom picked up her menu and stared at it. Her jaw kept clenching and unclenching, something she did when she was really angry.

“Jake, have you decided where you’re going to college?” Colin asked, changing the subject.

“No, I think I’ll stay close to home until I decide what I want to major in.   
I’m thinking about engineering but, I just don’t know.”

“That’s okay; lots of people change their majors once they get into college.” Dan said. Colin was really subdued as he finally realized that his siblings would be leaving in a few short months.  Jake noticed a shadow hovering over him and looked up. A man wearing a cowboy hat was standing in front of their table. Do people actually wear cowboy hats in Kentucky? The man seemed to be staring at his mom. His expression was unreadable. There was a beautiful woman with him who seemed just as perplexed at his behavior. She tugged at his arm gently.

“Raylan” she said softly hoping to break the spell he was under. The man didn’t move.

 “Hey, buddy can I help you?” Dan noticed the attention. He always got belligerent when someone hit on Mom. She in turn thought it was funny and always flirted back. Jake assumed that that’s how she ended up with two illegitimate children. Mom finally looked up from the menu.

“Holy shit” she exclaimed. After a moment of shocked recognition she explained, “Its okay Dan, we went to school together.”

“What are you doing here?” their mom asked. Jake was surprised at his mom’s rudeness. Jake quirked an eyebrow at his sister, this was going to be interesting.

“Out to dinner, same as you, I suspect.” The man drawled.

“In Kentucky” she clarified.

“I joined the marshal service right out of college.” The man said.

“I heard” their mom answered.

“I was stationed in Miami then I shot someone and they transferred me here as punishment.” The man in the hat said with a wry smile and a southern drawl. Mom started to laugh as though this was the single most hilarious thing that she had ever heard. There was an actual tear when she was finished laughing.

“My daughter is on a college visit to UK, this is my daughter Emily and that’s Jake. This is my stepson Colin and my husband Dan”

“This is Winona” the man didn’t specify their relationship instead he turned to Emily and then Jake, studying them as though they were freaks at a carnival. He took in their dark hair and skin and hazel eyes. He seemed to come to a conclusion about them and turned to their mother with wide eyes

“Raylan” she said warningly.

“Can I talk to you outside?” he asked.

“Fine” her tone was hard, they left and everyone still at the table stared at each other in confusion.

“I’m just going to sit down” Winona excused herself to sit in the booth behind them.

“What do you think that was all about?”

 

 

“Raylan and Eleanor walked out of the restaurant and stood on the sidewalk under the streetlight. They were far enough from the waiting line so they wouldn’t be overheard.

“Are they…” Raylan asked.

“Are they what Raylan?”

“You know, are they his?” Eleanor would usually find his awkwardness adorable but, right now she was just to upset someone figured out her secret.

“Whose?” Eleanor glared a challenge.

“Shit, El, why are you making me ask this?” Raylan took off his ridiculous hat and ran his hand through his longish hair. Her attention was drawn to the grey at his temples.

“If you don’t want to know then why are you asking?” she asked softly, hoping he would let sleeping dogs lie.

“Are they Boyd’s?” he finally spit out. “They look like him.”

“Yes” she admitted.

“Does he know?”

“Yes”

“Is that it?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“I want to know what happened after I left” he admitted putting his hat back on and let the shadow it cast hide his face.

“When I found out I was pregnant we decided it would be for the best if I left, neither of us wanted to raise a kid in Harlan, especially a Crowder’s kid”

“And Boyd just sent you away, pregnant with twins” he had the decency to sound skeptical at that.

“He gave me the money to do it; I went to live with a great aunt in Richmond.”

“Why didn’t Boyd go with you?” he asked, She forced a laugh.

“Raylan, Bo was going to drag his ass back to Harlan to take over the family business, didn’t matter where he went. So we figured it was best if we never told no one and left a blank on the birth certificate”

“Shit” Raylan had his hands on his hips and leaning to one side, he really did look like a cowboy.

“The kids don’t know anything; I only admitted that I actually knew who their father was a few months ago so don’t say anything.”

“I won’t”

“They are safer far removed from the Crowders”

“When was the last time you spoke to Boyd?”

“It’s been years, why did he attract the attention of the US Marshals?”

“Yeah”

“What’s he been doing?”

“Far as we know; robbing banks and blowing shit up, occasional murder, joined the white supremacy movement” Raylan listed off the shit he had to deal with.

 “He doesn’t believe that shit” Eleanor quirked an eyebrow.

“He got the tattoos at least” Raylan looked tired.

“What else?” she knew there was more to this.

“I shot him.” Eleanor gave him an astonished look.

“He lived, even claimed it was an act of God or some such bullshit and started preaching.” Raylan shook his head, perhaps in amusement.

“He always was a talker.”

“Bo’s dead, killed by the Miami cartel” Raylan said, knowing this would be big news.

“Shit, Raylan, when’d this happen.” Eleanor looked astonished. Bo was gone? That could change everything.

“About a month back” Raylan said.

“What else is going on?”

“Ava shot Bowman, killed him, you know they were married?”

“Yeah, I went to the wedding.”

“Now I’m dealing with the Bennets.”

“Mags?”

“Yeah”

“Arlo still alive?”

“We’ve crossed paths.” Raylan didn’t seem inclined to talk much more on the subject; honestly, she was surprised he’d said this much already without pulling teeth.

“What’s Boyd doing now?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“He’s at the mine, says he’s going straight.”

“Really?”

“It won’t last.” They stood in silence absorbing the news.

“Don’t say anything to the kids or to Boyd when you see him, in fact just don’t say anything to anyone.” Eleanor said.

“Alright” Raylan agreed.

“Promise me.” Eleanor turned her intent look toward him.

“Okay I promise.” She searched his face for deception and didn’t find any.

“Let’s go back in before they send out a search party.” Eleanor returned to the restaurant booth. Her family watched her every move, waiting for her to speak.

“The waiter been by yet?” she said causally.

“I ordered a steak for you” Dan said, a little harshly.

“That’s great thanks.” Eleanor took a long drink from her glass before she started to explain. “That’s Raylan Givens, we grew up together. He had some news to share from home”

“Bad news or good news?” Dan asked, seeing how his wife was a little rattled.

“Not surprising news” was the vague answer.

“Mom, where exactly did you grow up?” Emily asked softly, if they were ever going to get answers, this was it.

“Harlan County, Kentucky”

“Never heard of it”

“Not much to tell”

“What was the news?”

“Oh, you know who passed away and everything. That’s what happens after twenty years.”

“Mom, you looked freaked, why won’t you talk to us”

“Emily, why do you suddenly want to know?”

“You’ve been keeping secrets Mom!”

“And I hope you trust me enough to know that it must have been for a damn good reason. Now how about we enjoy our dinner and not cause a scene.”

“We’re talking about this in the car Ellie” Dan said quietly.

“Fine” Eleanor seemed hurt, but not surprised, that her husband wanted to talk about this. She made sure that the steak lasted a long time. On his way out Raylan gave her a card with his number and a graphic of a Marshal’s badge. He didn’t say goodbye.

They paid the bill, left a nice tip, and went out to the car. Eleanor studiously looked out the window as Dan drove out of the parking lot.

“So...” Dan started.

“What do you want to know” Eleanor asked angrily

“How about you start with the father of your children?” Emily said angrily from the backseat.

“Well, that is the one story I will not be telling so pick a different question.”

“Ellie, you shouldn’t withhold this type of information”

“Look, you don’t want to know Emily so just drop it.” Eleanor snapped.

“Can you tell us about our grandparents?” Jake asked, always the peacemaker.

“I never knew my daddy; he died in the mines before I was born. My mama went to live with her brother and she did the best she could with a waitressing job, obviously we were dirt poor all our lives but, we loved each other and that was more than what most people had.”

“What about our dad? Did he come from money?” Emily asked.

“if you had money, you wouldn’t be living in Harlan.” Eleanor explained.

“So that’s a no?” Emily filed the information away.

“So your father worked in a coal mine that is an interesting piece of history” Dan said timidly, trying to encourage her to talk. Even when they were dating she didn’t offer much about her childhood, he never thought much about it honestly.

“Nothing interesting about dying in a coal mine, around a coal mine, or of black lung” she said hotly.

“Sorry”

“Did you play any sports?” Colin asked.

“No, Raylan played baseball though, so I went to a lot of those games.”

“How’d you two meet?” Emily asked.

“Had to do a biology project, turned out we had stuff in common.”

“What did you have in common?” Jake asked.

“We both wanted to get out of Harlan.”

“Come on Mom, quit being dramatic, it couldn’t have been that bad.” Emily said.

“There’s a reason that I don’t talk about it.”

“Well, what were some of the good parts?” Jake asked.

“The hiking, the lake where went fishing.”

 “Ellie, will you tell me what was so awful about it?” Dan pleaded.

“Nope” luckily they had pulled up to their hotel. Eleanor stayed silent as they went to their separate rooms. Eleanor slept in the room with her husband and the three kids stayed in the adjacent room.

“you’re not going to say anything more are you?”

“nope” Eleanor stormed into the bathroom. She took a long time. When he felt his wife get into the bed beside him, Dan rolled over to face her.

“You know that if you ever want to talk about it you can” Dan whispered before he fell asleep.

 

 

 

“That was really strange; I mean what could be so awful that she can’t even tell Dan about it?” Emily whispered to Jake the moment Colin closed the door to the bathroom.

“Maybe she saw a murder.” Jake said.

“I was thinking the same thing! What if our dad killed someone and she’s covering it up!” Emily said anxiously.

“I’m starting to agree with Mom, I don’t really want to know who he is.”  
            “How can you say that? He’s our father and a total mystery.” Emily said, this was playing out like a mystery novel.

“Who just happened to have fifty grand to spend on kids he’s never even met!”

“What if we have met him and we didn’t know?” Emily suggested.

“Who would that be? I’ve never met a friend of Mom’s from before we were born or a family member besides Aunt Bertie.”

“What if it’s that cowboy we met at dinner, Mom was really rattled.”

“It could be. I just hate the idea of having a cowboy for a dad.” Jake said.

“Cowboys are cool” Emily retorted. Colin walked out of the bathroom.

“Solved the mystery yet?” he asked.

“No”

“I think  you should leave it alone Emily, I think Mom’s a good judge of character and if she thinks this guy is bad enough to not give a name, I don’t think you want to be associated with him.” Colin showed more insight than the average freshmen in high school.

“I think he’s right Emily” Jake admitted.

“I just can’t let it go” Emily mumbled, pulling the covers around herself. Jake moved to the rollaway bed and Colin turned out the light. Emily just couldn’t stop imagining her mom’s life. How could she know so little about her own mom? Why had she never asked questions? She tossed and turned and it was suddenly one thirty in the morning. She just couldn’t sleep.

“Did I wake you?” the question came faintly from the window. It sounded like her mom. The window was open; it was a warm spring night.

“Drinking I’m sure” the faint laugh was definitely her mom. She must be out on the balcony but, who the hell was she talking too? Emily got out of bed and went to stand by the window.

“I just, the kids keep asking me questions.”  There was a pause; she must be on the phone. “I told them that their father had set up a college fund years ago, which of course meant that I actually knew who their father was…. What was I supposed to say to them; you father never visits just because?  It was just better if they didn’t know…I know it makes me sound like a slut, thanks asshole… of course I’m not going to answer their questions… what would they investigate, it’s not like that information is just lying around at the local library… nobody knows Raylan… I know _you_ figured it out but… Raylan it’ll blow over… it’s for the best… it was a mutual decision… you know they’re eighteen and neither of them has held a gun. That’s why we did it Raylan, so those kids wouldn’t have to grow up in that place… thank you… seriously, just don’t mention it to anyone. …thanks…you too, goodnight.” Her mom opened the balcony door and went back inside.

Okay that was weird; she calls the cowboy in the middle of the night. It didn’t sound like he was their father either, but he knew who was.


	8. Chapter 8

_July 1989, Harlan_

 

            Raylan shook, the mine had collapsed. Boyd had grabbed his hand and dragged him out. One of the other miners died, it could have been him or Boyd. He can’t do this anymore. The mountain wanted to shallow them whole. Harlan wanted to shallow him whole. He would do anything to not go into the black once more. He would work for Bo, deal drugs or break legs, whatever it was that made Boyd what he is now. He washed the coal dust off of him for the last time. The black water circled the drain. You’ll never leave Harlan alive.

_April 2010, Richmond Virginia_

 

Emily woke up earlier than usual and went downstairs. Her mom was making breakfast while everyone else was asleep. She leaned against the kitchen counter and watched her mom flip pancakes.

“Can I ask you something?” Emily asked.

“Depends on what you’re going to ask.” Her mom stirred the batter more forcefully.

“I know you don’t want to talk about it but, could you tell me something, anything about him? I’ve just always wanted to know about my dad and I thought I never would. That’s why this whole thing is bothering me so much.”  Her mom turned to face her; she leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. It was something she did when she was frustrated.

“Before I knew I was having twins we talked about names. If it was girl he wanted to name you after Emily Dickinson, his favorite poet.”

“Emily Dickinson?” she parroted. To find she was named after her least favorite poet was surprising to say the least.

“And your middle name, Helen, I suggested that.  Helen was a kind woman that helped us when we were in trouble. She’s Raylan aunt, the man you met at the restaurant.”

“The cowboy? Hard to forget him, what about Jake did you pick that name?”

“Jacob was my brother’s name; he died before you were born.” Was the surprising answer, she never knew she had an uncle. She wondered what he was like.

“What happened to him?”

“Car crash, when he was sixteen, he was four years younger than me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago.”

“do you have any pictures?”

“maybe, I’ll look into it.

“What about your mom, my grandmother.” Emily asked. How do you not know if you have pictures of your dead brother? She still didn’t understand why she was hiding so much of her life.

“She died of cancer, not long after Jacob.”

“So you don’t have any family?”

“Nope” Eleanor found that lies still slipped easily from her tongue.

“Mom, the thing that’s really confusing me is, if he’s such a bad man then why did you sleep with him? It wasn’t… I mean you weren’t forced or anything.”

“No!” her mom looked up sharply “it wasn’t like that. Your Father…” she trailed off, thinking about it. Emily was about to say something when she continued. “Was someone that could have been a good man if circumstances were different.”

“Did you love him?”

“Yes, I did” she said softly.

“Then why did you leave?”

“It was better that way.” She said.

“How, I mean if you loved him maybe you would have been happy together.” Emily said. Her mom looked up at her with a strange expression, close to a grimace.

“It wouldn’t have worked and I can’t explain it to you, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me, I want to understand you”

“I don’t want you to understand, that was the whole point of me leaving, so you and your brother could grow up in a better place.” Her mom looked so torn, trying to reconcile the two parts of her life

“Mom, I sure it wasn’t that bad”

“It was, now let’s leave it at that.” She said. Emily knew her mom was going to shut down, but maybe if she pushed a little harder.

“This is my family Mom; I have a right to know about my father. You don’t want to tell me a name, fine, I just want to know what he did that was so bad you left the man you loved and can’t tell your kids about him!” Emily was yelling now.

“Your family, the ones right here in this house, they’re the ones that you care about, the ones that love you. Your family is not some guy that’s been in and out of jail. What kinds of details do you want to know Emily? We didn’t exactly talk about it on date night but, I know he ran drugs and I know he’s killed people, plural. That was nearly twenty years ago so who knows what’s going on now. Is that what you wanted to know?” Eleanor said viciously.

Emily stood staring at her mother gaping like a fish. This was worse than she had thought it would be. Emily had been thinking along the lines of abusive asshole or drug dealer but, murders? That was a whole other ball game, how should she feel about that? Jake and Dan walked in the kitchen just then. They took in Emily’s shocked expression and Eleanor’s angry stance.

“What was all the yelling about?” Dan asked even though it was obvious he didn’t really want to know the answer. Emily looked at her mom, should she tell them? From Mom’s expression it was obvious the decision was all up to her.

“Mom was just answering questions about our dad.”

“What was the answer?” Dan asked.

“He’s a murderer.” Emily answered. No wonder her mom didn’t want to talk about this, it was awful news to share.

            “So he’s in jail?” Dan looked so shocked.

“Not that I know of”

“He killed someone and he’s not in jail” Jake said, really not liking where this was going.

“Do the police know about this?” Dan asked.

“I’m sure they figured it out eventually.” Eleanor said.

“So he got away with it?” Dan looked queasy.

“Yes he did, and then I left and never spoke to him again. Now that everyone knows the big secret can we just eat breakfast like a normal family again.” her voice was strained as though the weight of this horrible secret was simply too much to bear. Dan stepped closer and embraced her. They wouldn’t ask any more questions, they believed that lie too. She had learned from the best after all. She pulled away from Dan and batted her eyes as if holding back tears. Jake walked around her to get the last pancake off the griddle. He moved the food to the table and set out plates for all of them,

“Why don’t you tell us about when you left” Jake said when they had all sat down at the table. Somehow Colin had slept through the entire thing.

“Well, my mom was from Richmond and I knew she still had family here. I called my great aunt Bertie and I asked her for a huge favor. You guys remember her; she was the kindest person I knew. She agreed to take me in. I packed my bags and my cousin Teddy drove me up to her house. She took me in as if I was her own daughter.” Eleanor said, a fond smile as she remembered Bertie.

“Did you tell our dad that you were leaving?” Emily asked around a mouthful of pancake.

“I did, he didn’t try to stop me or anything if that’s what you’re asking.”

“And you’ve never spoken to anyone from your life since you left?” Dan asked.

“Well, Teddy stopped by a few times but I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

“What’s he like?”

“Nice guy, good listener and truly wants to know what’s going on in your life. Been a Drug addict most of his life.” Eleanor said casually while her middle class suburbia family looked on in surprise.


	9. Chapter 9

_July 1989, Harlan_

Helen Givens woke up to a knock on her door. She pulled on a robe and rushed to answer it. Who would be knocking at this hour? She was surprised to see Boyd Crowder on her doorstep, standing in the rain. The young man was wearing all black and was soaking wet. He didn’t say a word, just handed her an envelope.

“What’s this?” she opened it. The innocuous white envelope was filled with cash.

“Someone needs to get out of Harlan, and it’s not going to be me.” He said solemnly.

“You want me to give this to Raylan?”

“Yes” with nothing more to say he turned and stepped back into the rain.

_August 2010, Lexington_

 

They were so drunk, all the girls she rode here with. Emily roamed the house looking for someone familiar. Tammi was passed out on the couch and Abby was making out with some guy she had never seen before. She didn’t want to be here anymore. It was dark and these people were strangers. She pushed past two guys and stood in a hall way, looking for an exit.

“Hey, baby” some guy slurred and made a grab for her boobs. She darted away. She was actually scared she realized. How was she supposed to get back to her dorm? Everyone here was wasted. She didn’t have a car. She didn’t even know anyone besides the girls that were inside. Why had she come to this stupid freshman party?  She was pretty sure most of these people were not even freshmen. She didn’t even drink. She finally found her way outside. Some house in the suburbs of Lexington. She didn’t even know the number to call a cab.

She sat down in the grass and slowed her panicked breathing. She took out her phone and scrolled through her contacts. Maybe her mom could find out the number of a cab company in Lexington. No, she didn’t even have any money with her anyway. She was so screwed. One contact caught her attention; it was under cowboy in her phone. That friend of her mom’s the US Marshal. She had taken the phone number intending to call and ask about her dad before she learned that he was a murderer. He was in Lexington right? She dialed before she really thought it through.

“Givens” a groggy voice answered the phone.

“Is this Raylan Givens, the Marshal?” God, what was she supposed to say to this guy?

“Loretta?”

“No, this is Emily; I’m Eleanor Reed’s daughter, we met that one time in a restaurant.” She was speaking really quickly.

“Okay, so why are you calling me in the middle of the night.” she had obviously interrupted his beauty sleep.

“You’re in Lexington right?”

“Yeah” he said slowly.

“I’m at this party for freshmen and everyone is really drunk and I’m scared and I don’t have a way back to my dorm and I don’t know anyone here yet and this is the only number I could think to call. And I don’t have any money for a cab” Emily knew this probably didn’t make much sense.

“Okay, why don’t you tell me where you are and I’ll come pick you up”

“Thank you, thank you so much. Okay, I don’t see a street sign so I’m going to go look for one.”

“Stay on the line okay; I’m going to go get some shoes on.” He said.

“Okay” Emily started walking. Should she even trust this guy to pick her up? Her mom wasn’t the best judge of character. The guy was a US Marshal though, that means he was one of the good guys right? This was a really long street. It wasn’t well lit but, seemed to be a nice neighborhood. How did she even get in this situation? Finally she came to a street sign.

“Mr. Givens are you still here?”

“Yeah, I’m here and just call me Raylan.”

“I’m at the corner of Ares Court and Chevy Street.” Taking a risk and trusting an old friend of her mom’s.

“Okay let me put that in the GPS.” There was the sound of a car door being opened. “I’m about ten minutes away alright”

“Okay thank you again Raylan” she hung up and waited. It was dark and everyone was asleep, or at least she hoped they were. In the distance there was a shout, probably from the party. He was there in less than ten minutes. There must not be much traffic in the middle of the night. She got in the passenger seat. Raylan looked different than the last time she had seen him. The hat was missing.

“I assume you need to get back to UK?” he said.

“Yes, thank you again for doing this.”

“I couldn’t let you wander around in the middle of the night. So how drunk are you?” he asked.

“I only had two beers I swear, it was a freshman get to know you sort of thing and I thought I would meet some of my classmates but, it was just older guys and I felt uncomfortable and the friends I came with are just really wasted.”

“It’s not really a good idea to go out drinking with people you don’t know very well.”

“Lesson learned” Emily said.

“I think this is the part where you beg me not to tell your mom this happened.” Raylan looked over at her.

“I’ll probably tell her myself but, if you called to say hey she would probably appreciate that.” Emily said, hoping if she sounded sincere he wouldn’t call. She definitely did not want her mom to find out about this.

“You know, she called me, said you might try to get a hold me. You really wanted to know about your daddy.” He said casually.

“Well, Mom told me some things and I think I’m better off not knowing.”

“Glad you see it that way.” Raylan was surprised to hear the contempt in the girl’s voice. What exactly had Eleanor said to her.

“I would like to know more about Mom though; she never talks about things before we were born. We never thought much of it. We knew she ran away from home, just assumed the worse about her family. This thing with my dad though, it’s like she’s this totally other person, one that lies to us. I don’t want to know about my dad but, I would like to know what she was like back then.”

“Well, she wasn’t abused at home, your grandmother was one of the sweetest people I knew, made you feel loved. Eleanor was shy and we went to the same grade school but, I didn’t talk to her until high school. We just became friends.” He stopped talking way before the story was over.

“That’s a very generic story”

“I tell you something that she hasn’t, your mom will kick my ass.” He admitted.

“She told me my father was a murderer” Emily said, watching the Marshal’s reaction. He seemed almost surprised.

 “Look Emily, I know you’re curious and you have a right to be. Your parents sacrificed a lot to make sure you wouldn’t have to deal with things like this.”

“I’m just trying to understand, to reconcile the person I know with the kind of person that would sleep with a murderer.”

“You’re looking at it as though it were straightforward. Your father is a man who can and will change who he is to achieve his means.” Raylan explained.

“So he’s a bad guy that changed into a good guy to sleep with my mom?” Emily kept learning more and more about her dad and it kept getting worse.

“No, they loved each other. He was a good guy but, changed into a bad guy.” Raylan could never adequately describe the people in Harlan to outsiders.

“Why would he do that?” Emily was even more confused.

“It wasn’t optional.”

“What does that mean, you always have a choice” she said.

“Sometimes all your choices are bad. So which dorm are you in?” Raylan switched the subject.

“Turn right” she said and directed him to her building.

“Hey, if you’re in trouble, you can call me okay?” Raylan said as she opened the car door.

“Okay, thanks for the ride and for telling me about my parents” Emily got out of the car and walked to her dorm.


	10. Chapter 10

Note: dialogue taken from the episode “The I of the Storm”

 

_July 1989, Harlan_

 

 

Helen was sitting at the kitchen table when she heard the knock. She yelled for him to come in. Raylan walked in looking curious.

“You said you wanted to talk to me?”

“Sit down” she ordered. He followed. She shoved an envelope in front of him. Some of it was Boyd’s and some of it was from her.

“Three thousand dollars in that envelope, you’re going to enroll yourself in college. When the semester starts you’re going to drive up to the city and you’re going to stay there.”

“Helen, I can’t-” he started.

“Yes, you will.”

 

_August 2010, Harlan_

 

Raylan found Boyd at Audrey’s. He talked business first.

“Is it just me or does the presence of a US Marshal make these folks uneasy.”

“Well, maybe it’s just your hat.” Boyd said dryly, looking unhappy to see him. Boyd wasn’t very forthcoming. Raylan was about to leave, not getting the information he was looking for. There was no one around so he switched to more personal topics.

“I ran into Eleanor a few months back.” Raylan said. Boyd feigned nonchalance but he knew he was listening. “Her kids at UK she wants to get into the pharmacy school. This is the girl, Emily; real smart kid it seems, asks a lot of questions.”

“Raylan, I am trying to have a drink in peace.” Boyd said, knowing they shouldn’t talk about this here.

“Okay fine, call me if you think of anything to tell me.” Raylan pulled out one of his cards and slid it over to Boyd before leaving. He heard him tear it up, a show for the other patrons. It didn’t matter, Boyd already knew his number. He drove back to the office. He got a call the next day, around the same time.

“What does she ask questions about?” Boyd asked. He spoke slowly as if he was exhausted.

“Hold on” Raylan said before moving away from his desk and towards the locker room.

“Raylan, where are you going?” Art came out of his office. “You know we have work to do” Art sounded exasperated, as usual.

“Art, I just have to take this call.” Raylan darted into the locker room missing his boss’s eye roll.

“Okay I’m back. Since they’re going to college El mentioned that you had set up a college fund, which meant that she knew who their father was and the girl asked questions.”

“Now how did you learn about all this Raylan?” Boyd sounded suspicious.

“They look like you; I put two and two together. I gave Eleanor my number and then Emily must have gotten the number because she called me a couple days ago.”

“What for?”

“She was at college party and she felt uncomfortable and her ride was drunk and she doesn’t know anyone and Lexington yet.”

“So she called you?”

“I got her home safely and everything.”

“How is she?”

“She asks questions Boyd, Eleanor finally had to say something and she said you were a murderer to stop the line of questioning.” Raylan told him. He was quiet after that.

“I suppose that’s for the best.”

“I told her it was more complicated than that. That you were a good man that loved her mother and was forced to do bad things.”

“Thank you for saying that Raylan” Boyd whispered.

“The look on her face, when she told me that, I had to say something.” he admitted.

“Raylan, I know we no longer see eye to eye but, I’m going to ask you for a favor. Don’t tell anyone in law enforcement about this. They will put it on a file somewhere and someone will use those kids against me. The law will drag them through the mud and the lawless would hurt them to get to me. I know you want me in jail and I would do anything for those kids but, nothing good will come from this revelation.”

“I know that’s why I’m not going to say anything.”

“Thank you”

“I can give you Eleanor’s number if you want?” Raylan offered.

“No, it’s best I don’t have it. Thank you for telling me about this. Goodbye Raylan” Boyd hung up. Art poked his head in as Raylan slipped the phone in his pocket.

“You don’t have cancer do you?” he asked.

“No” Raylan said, if he waited long enough Art would usually explain his own jokes.

“Unless your doctor called to tell you that you’re dying, I want you to finish the paperwork on the Ramirez case.”

“How could I forget Art, you keep reminding me every twenty minutes.”

“You have the attention span of a small child. Tell you what. You get the paperwork on my desk by this afternoon; I will get you a cookie.”

“I want ice cream” Raylan called after his boss. Art gave him the middle finger salute in response. He couldn’t tell his coworkers that he was talking to Boyd Crowder. There just wasn’t an adequate way to describe their complex relationship. Sure, he had shot him, which he kind of regretted but, Boyd had pulled his ass out of the fire many times before.

 

 

 

_April 1986, Harlan_

 

Things change, Raylan knew this. He didn’t like it though. Boyd had stopped eating lunch at their table. This might not seem all that important; it may sound like Raylan was acting like a girl, upset because his best friend didn’t talk to him. He wasn’t trying to be dramatic or anything. It meant that Boyd was starting to become that guy that everyone had always assumed he was. Eleanor noticed it too; they shared worried looks all through class. That summer they would stop going to the lake as well, it wasn’t the same with just the two of them

“It was for the best sweetie, you’ll make new friends” his mother told him as she was rolling out dough.

“I guess so” he answered after a long pause. He stared out the open kitchen window. Arlo was gone, making the house seem warmer. It didn’t help the curl of dread settling itself into his gut. He wasn’t dumb; he knew what was going on. Boyd didn’t talk about it but, he came to school looking like he had been up all night. He knew he was working for his father. Boyd was getting sucked into that darkness that Harlan had to offer. He was slowly cutting himself off from his friends and hanging out with the rough crowd. Raylan hated to watch it. Neither of them could do anything to stop it.

“Raylan” Francis called his name to get his attention, “can you go down to the store and get some sugar and bread?”

“Sure” he grabbed his car keys and went out to the truck. His mother wanted to bake a pie; he couldn’t remember the last time she had done that.  He roamed around the store before finally finding the sugar and then went to look for bread, in the grocery aisle he ran into Boyd, pulling a loaf of bread off the shelves.

“Don’t you have people to do that for you?” Raylan teased. Boyd smiled as though he found the insult genuinely amusing.

“I left the groceries to Bowman a few times to see if he would accept the responsibility. It backfired each time.”

“How so?”

“Bowman simply went to eat dinner with friends or his football coach. Bo rarely eats at home anyway so the joke was on me.” Boyd had a wry smile as though going hungry was amusing.

“So he’s not grateful you took care of him all these years.” Raylan was trying to remember how old Bowman was; thirteen was surely too young to develop such an attitude.

“Bowman has a sense of entitlement he inherited from my father.”

“You’re welcome to come over for dinner anytime.” He offered before he could think about it too much.

“Thank you Raylan but, I can’t imagine what your folk’s reaction would be.”

“Well, my offer stands”

“Thank you, I still consider you a friend as well.” Boyd had the uncanny ability to always know what he was thinking. They parted ways. After a while he got used to Boyd being gone, and it was just him and Eleanor.

 

 

 

 

When he got back home he found Arlo at the kitchen, bottle of Jim Beam in front of him. He had been down at the bar getting hammered. It was truly miraculous he hadn’t driven off the road at this point. His mom was gone, the pie dough left on the counter. Raylan was so tired of this song and dance. He could feel the fury building inside. He marched over to the table and grabbed the bottle of bourbon out of Arlo’s hands.

“Hey! I was drinking that” he slurred.

“Go upstairs and lay down”

“You should show me some respect boy” he sneered.

“Well, when you do something worthy of my respect, I’ll take notice” Raylan turned to put the bottle in the cabinet. Arlo darted out of his chair, amazingly agile for such a drunken man, and grabbed a knife from the drawer.

“Arlo” Raylan said slowly, putting his hands up in surrender. Arlo lunged, swinging the knife like a madman. Raylan twisted out of the way, caught Arlo’s arm and slammed his hand against the refrigerator. The knife fell to the floor with a clatter. Raylan picked it up before Arlo moved.

“I’m sorry” Arlo whispered.

“Go upstairs Arlo” Raylan asked. The man went, all the crazy gone. Raylan returned the knife and grabbed the keys again. He didn’t want to stay here. He started driving; he didn’t really have a destination. Helen was out of town, up in Louisville. He had a spare key to her place but, it was back at the house and he didn’t want to go back there. He ended up at Boyd’s. He knocked on the front door, hoping that Bo wasn’t there. Boyd answered the door

“Raylan what happened?” Boyd seemed alarmed and quickly ushered him inside.

“Is your daddy here?” he had to ask.

“He’s out of town and Bowman’s at his coaches house for dinner again.” Boyd led him into the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” Raylan didn’t need to go to the bathroom.

“Jesus Christ, Raylan, you’re bleeding all over my floor.” Boyd shoved him down on the toilet. Raylan looked down at himself in confusion. The side of his shirt was sticking to his skin, red with blood. He hadn’t noticed it before. Boyd disappeared for a moment and returned with alcohol and a towel.

“Raylan, can you take off your shirt?” Boyd asked while he pulled a few boxes out from the cabinet underneath the sink. There was a moment of confusion where Raylan had no idea how to take off his shirt. Then he started to move his arm and finally felt the pain. “Okay, I’ll just cut it off, try not to move okay.” He said in a reassuring voice. Boyd opened the boxes and pulled out a pair of scissors and cut off Raylan’s shirt and used the towel to mop up excess blood.

“Raylan you want to tell me what happened?”

“Arlo”

“Arlo tried to kill you?”

“I don’t think he ever intends to do anything, he just does it.”

“I think you’re going to need stitches.”

“It’s fine, just a scratch” Raylan protested.

“Your judgment is impaired as you are suffering from blood loss.”

“I am not.” He said stubbornly.

“Just drink this” Boyd poured him a shot from the bottle. It burned on the way down. Raylan watched with morbid fascination as Boyd cleaned the wound with alcohol and prepared a needle. Raylan must have blacked out a little because when he looked back Boyd was stitching up his side as if he had done this many times before. He took another drink as Boyd finished and taped a bandage over it.

“You ever thought of being a doctor?” Raylan asked.

“If I start thinking like that I usually turn towards teaching.” Boyd said, washing his hands and putting everything away.

“Teaching?”

“Teaching literature, maybe at a college” Boyd gathered up the bloody materials and took them somewhere. Raylan stayed sitting on the toilet until he came back. When he did it was with an extra shirt. Boyd led him to his bedroom and left him with the instructions to sleep.

 

_September 2010, Lexington_

Emily was walking to the Kroger just outside of campus. Her roommate had a car but refused to drive her anywhere. They didn’t get along. She was tired of not having any food in the dorm. It was a chilly night and she wrapped her coat tightly around her. A dark green sedan pulled up at the curb. She walked just a little faster.

“Excuse me!” the driver called. She turned around and looked at the man. There wasn’t anyone else around so he was definitely talking to her. “I’m afraid I’m lost, can you help me?”

“I’m new here, so I can’t really help you sorry.” She smiled politely and kept walking. She heard someone behind her, she started to run. Someone grabbed her hair, yanking her back and pressed a cloth around her nose and mouth. They continued to drag her backwards as she struggled, trying not to breath and attempting to twist out of his grasp. They opened the backseat of the car, and that was the last thing she remembered.


	11. Chapter 11

_September 2010, Lexington_

When Raylan walked into the building he was immediately called into Art’s office. He looked unhappy, which was not unusual. Two others stood in the office. One was a short balding man and the other was a red-haired woman.  He didn’t recognize either of them but, they looked like law enforcement. They both scowled as he walked in.

“Raylan, these two are LPD and they have some questions for you” Art said.

“Okay, what about?” he turned to the police officers.

“Do you know an Emily Reed?” the woman asked.

“Yes” Raylan answered, a cold feeling in his chest.

“What is your relationship with her?”

“I’m an old friend of her mom’s”

“Did she call you in the middle of the night on August 29th?” the man asked, from the question he could tell that he was a suspect.

“Yes, she was at a party and she was uncomfortable and didn’t have a ride so she called me since she didn’t know anyone in town yet. Are you going to tell me what happened to her?” Raylan asked angrily.

“Can anyone confirm this?”

“No, but if you call Eleanor, she will vouch for me. Now what happened to Emily?”

“We believed she was kidnapped last night.”

“What does that mean, she either was or she wasn’t” Raylan said.

“The case is still being investigated but, we have footage of a girl being taken into a car near a gas station near campus. Did she mention anything to you that might have seemed strange that night or did she say why she felt uncomfortable at the party.”

“Everyone was drunk and she didn’t have a ride home, there were a lot of older guys even though it was supposed to be a freshman only thing.”

“Anything else you can tell us about her?”

“Not really, I didn’t know her that well”

“You just said you were a friend” the woman asked, suddenly suspicious.

“Of her mother’s, I hadn’t seen her in a long time and we ran into each other a few months back.”

“The mother lives in Virginia correct?”

“Richmond” he confirmed.

“So where did you run into each other?”

“Here, in Lexington, they were visiting UK. Do you have any ideas as to why she was kidnapped?”

“We’re still looking into it. Okay, deputy if we have any more questions we will be in touch.” The detectives handed him a business card and left, still scowling.

“You don’t have any friends” Art said to him as soon as they left.

“Sure I do” Raylan said even though he couldn’t think of any at the moment.

“Well I guess it’s better than a secret boyfriend.”

“What?”

“Those detectives thought you were Emily’s secret boyfriend. You’re listed in her contacts under ‘cowboy’ I explained that you did actually wear a cowboy hat but, they didn’t believe me.” Art said. His phone rang, Eleanor’s name flashed on the screen.

“Emily’s been kidnapped” was the first thing out of her mouth when he answered.

“I know they were just here to talk to me” he said. Art looked up in surprise.

“Why would they talk to you?”

“I gave her a ride about two weeks ago and my numbers in her phone.” He didn’t tell her about the boyfriend mix up

“Why did she need a ride?”

“She was at a party and the girl that was supposed to drive was too drunk. I got her home safely and we had a nice chat.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“I should have” he conceded.

“It’s not important. My cousin Teddy was here last week” she said slowly.

“I thought he was dead?” Raylan said the first thing that came to mind. The man was a drug addict for as long as he could remember

“Well he’s not, he stopped by for dinner here in Richmond and I let him stay the night. We talked a bit about home and then he was on his way. He could have figured it out. I mean it took you like two seconds.”

“You think he knows?”

“Well it’s a hell of a coincidence. I was hoping you could talk to Boyd, see if he’s doing anything to piss off anyone. I’m coming to Lexington and when I get there I’ll explain to the police about this whole thing so they can start to look into that angle.”

“I’ll call him; look she’s not going to be missing for long. Hell, they’ll probably find her before you get here.”

“I hope so.”

“See you when you get here” Raylan hung up and met the questioning gaze of his boss. “That was Eleanor, the mom; she’s on her way here.”

“So who knows what?” Art asked, grasping the big details from the conversation.

“Well, her cousin was over last week and he may have discovered something that she has tried to keep hidden.”

“And you know what this something is?” Art questioned hesitantly. Raylan nodded knowing Art wasn’t going to let this go. He got up and closed the door to Art’s office before sitting down again. This wasn’t his secret to tell but, the police needed to know.

“Emily is Boyd Crowder’s daughter”

“Holy shit!” Art leaned back and put his hands on top of his head “there’s nothing in his file about him having a kid.”

“Two actually, Emily has a twin brother.”

“How long have you known about this?”

“Only a few months actually” Raylan shrugged.

“And you didn’t think to say anything?”

“No” Raylan looked genuinely puzzled that Art would ask such a thing. Art truly didn’t know what to do with Raylan.

“Does Boyd know?”

“Yeah”

“So in the course of your investigation into Boyd Crowder, you didn’t think to mention that he had an old flame and two children.”

“Well, when I found out I wasn’t investigating him at the time.” Raylan reasoned.

“Bullshit, you know that you still should have said something.” Art was getting pissed.

“Well I promised I wouldn’t say anything.”

“Well, who is she hiding them from?”

“The kids don’t know about Boyd.”

“You could have told us without telling them.”

“They were afraid the kids would be used for leverage, which might be what happened here”

“Who thought they would be leverage, the mom?”

“And Boyd”

“Let me get this straight. The mom has been concealing the identity of the father so no one from Boyd’s past could use them against him.”

“That’s about it”

“And you think that’s what happened here. This cousin found out the kid’s were Boyd’s”

“It’s a hell of a coincidence”

“You call Boyd and see what he knows, I’m going to call these detectives and get them up to speed” Raylan stood as if to leave, “you make the call in here where I can listen in.” Raylan gave him a look that said he wasn’t pleased but, sat back down. Raylan dialed Ava’s number while Art watched.

“Is Boyd there?” he asked when she picked up.

“Raylan, you don’t even say hello first.”

“Hello Ava” he said.

“You want to talk to Boyd, what do you think he did now?” Ava sounded annoyed at him still.

“Nothing, I just need to talk to him, it’s very important.” Ava left to go find Boyd; it was a few moments of silence before his voice came over the line.

“Raylan” he said his name in place of a greeting.

“Emily was kidnapped last night” Raylan didn’t bother to break the news gently. Art was grimacing at his people skills. “Eleanor called and said that Teddy was at her house last week.”

“In Richmond?”

“Yeah”

“I saw him at Audrey’s just yesterday.”

“So he’s back in Harlan and he talks to everyone.”

“There has been a man hassling me to get back in the business, Dixie mafia, I don’t know if they were the ones behind this.” Boyd said.

“Now what does the Dixie Mafia want you to do?” Raylan asked. Art perked up at the mention of the mafia. How on earth does Raylan manage to dig up so much trouble?

“Blow shit up as usual, they think it will make an excellent distraction while they do their thing. I would only be marginally involved and paid well for my services. It was a good deal but, I didn’t take it.”

“So you’re the only criminal in Kentucky that has the ability to blow shit up”

“So it would seem. I suspect they have other motives but I have not put forth the effort to discern them.  I’ll see what I can find out from these people and I’ll get back to you.” They said their goodbyes and hung up. Art was looking at him much like a hawk watches a mouse.

“Since when are you so chummy with Boyd Crowder?” he asked.

“We used to be friends” Raylan shrugged, he had a hard enough time trying to figure it out for himself.

“You told me that you weren’t buddies?” Art said.

“It’s complicated”

“Apparently, so Boyd thinks it’s the Dixie mafia?”

“Maybe, they’ve been to see him. They want him to blow shit up for them.”


	12. Chapter 12

 

_September 2010, Harlan_

 

 

Boyd returned the phone to its cradle. He meant to go back to his room but Ava stood in the doorway.

“You in some kind of trouble?” Ava accused.

“That is what I need to determine.”

“You mentioned the Dixie Mafia” Ava had that look of contempt that she had worn before he had found faith and then lost it again.

“They have propositioned me several times, but I have always turned down their proposal.”

“What did Raylan want to talk to you about?”

“I can’t really say Ava, I’m sorry.” He so badly wanted her to stop looking at him like that, like she was seeing the man that he used to be.

“Boyd, you do something I don’t like and you’re gone”

“I know that Ava, I will take my leave when it is necessary. That day may come soon.” Boyd walked around her, not wanting to get into the specifics until he knew more. The man that came to him on behalf of the Mafia had given him a number. He had it lying around here somewhere. What did it say about him that he hadn’t even thought of throwing it away? The man answered on the third ring.

“Mr. O’Conner? This is Boyd Crowder; I have thought more about your ideas and would like to discuss them further.”

“I’m glad you called how about we meet tomorrow in Corbin, at that bar?” O’Conner said.

“I’ll be there at two”

The next day before his shift at the mine he came to the bar and met O’Conner. He spun a story about how he tried to go straight, but a man like him couldn’t get honest work except at the mine. He started to go more in depth about how the mountains would shallow you and the coal dust would get in your lungs and strangle you slowly. O’Conner didn’t look impressed with his metaphors so he skipped to the part where he said he was willing to work for the Dixie Mafia. O’Conner explained that the police were getting to close to their operation and needed a distraction to get the police officers off their tracks. Much like he had done in his days of robbing banks. They wanted him to come up to Frankfort the next day.

He agreed and they parted ways. It was all too easy. O’Conner treated him like an ignorant hillbilly, and Boyd played it that way. It was good to be underestimated. There was no reason for the Mafia to want him in particular; they had other plans for him. He just needed to figure out their motives. The best way to do that would be to go in voluntarily, let them think this was something he wanted to do rather than something they were forcing him to do. There was no indication that they had Emily, but he had to know for sure.

Boyd went to the mine to inform them he was quitting. Shelby looked sad, knowing that it meant he was returning to his old ways. Then he went back to Ava’s to pack his belongings. He would drive up to Frankfort the next day; O’Conner had given him an address. He had looked it up on Google maps, the address was a house in downtown Frankfort. It was simply a meeting place. He didn’t have very many things but, he had things like old photo albums that held sentimental value. He didn’t want to take this stuff with him to Frankfort; there was a chance he wouldn’t be coming back. Maybe Ava would let him store some of his things here at the house? He could pay her; it would be like helping her out by paying rent without him actually being here. Ava came home that afternoon, he was almost finished packing. He sorted things he would need to take with him and stuff he needed to find a place to store. Ava leaned against the doorway, scowling.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I will most likely be doing something illegal, so I am moving out of your house as you have asked me to do.”

“Are you going to Frankfort?”

“Yes”

“You know, I believed you had changed but, I guess I was wrong.”

“I wish I could Ava”

“This got something to do with Raylan’s call?” She asked.

“yes, Ava, I am going to tell you a secret and I hope that you will keep it.” he moved closer so that he was standing in front of her, hanging his head. “Do you remember Eleanor Reed? She was in my year and we were quite close. We never called it such but, we dated for several years.” Ava looked at him in surprise. She had never paid much attention to Boyd when they were younger; she was always on the lookout for Raylan. She did remember Eleanor vaguely, she was a sweet girl. “She got pregnant and we were afraid of my daddy finding out so she left Kentucky and went to live with a great aunt. We didn’t keep in touch, safer that way.”

“Boyd, where are you going with this?” Ava looked startled at his confession that was being dropped on her.

“Her daughter, Emily, _my_ daughter is attending the University of Kentucky. Two nights ago she was kidnapped at the same time the Dixie Mafia has been wanting me to do a job for them.” Boyd said. He needed Ava to understand. Ava was shocked, how on earth had he managed to keep this a secret in a place like Harlan?

“They’re using her to get to you” Ava surmised.

“I don’t know, but I can’t take the risk.”

“Does Raylan know?” she asked. He nodded in confirmation “And that’s why he called, to tell you about the kidnapping.”

“Yes”

“Shit, Boyd why are you telling me this.” Ava could see the raw emotion on his face; she couldn’t help but wonder who the real Boyd Crowder was? The real Boyd Crowder was not the man she knew when she was married and it wasn’t the preacher, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t the guy standing in front of her either.

“Ava, you have forgiven me and brought me into your home and for that I will be eternally grateful and I suppose I wanted you to know that I had changed.”

“So you’re going to join the Mafia and say what? ‘Hey, did you kidnap my daughter?’”

“If it was them, I’m sure they’ll mention it sooner rather than later. I have one more request to make of you Ava.” Boyd asked.

“I won’t tell anyone” Ava assured him.

“Thank you but, also do you mind if I leave some of this stuff here? I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. I’ll continue to pay rent.”

“Leave it here; the room will be waiting for you to get back.” Ava looked out of sorts, not knowing how to feel about all this.

“Thank you. I’m leaving tomorrow and if you don’t hear from me in the next two days. I want you to call Raylan and tell him what I’m doing. They said they wanted me to blow up stuff to distract the police and the only name I got was O’Conner.”

“I’ll tell him, I hope you can find her”

“So do I”

 

 

_September 2010, Frankfort_

 

 

When Boyd arrived at the address, which was a nice home in the suburbs, he met two people in the organization, Jaime Calderon and Lori Fuller. Calderon was a tall broad man. A tattoo of a cobra wound up his right hand. Fuller was a stocky blonde with her hair cut short and practical. They shook his hand and mentioned how nice it was to meet him.

“I’m sorry to cut his short, but we have places to be. Mr. O’Conner will show you where you’ll be staying; we’ll be taking care of all your expenses during your stay.” Calderon said cheerfully.  Little alarm bells went off in his head.

“That’s very kind of you” Boyd said, pretending like he didn’t notice anything was wrong. He followed O’Conner’s car to the outskirts of town. O’Conner’s lackeys followed behind him.  This road through the woods went on for a long time, wherever they were going, it was isolated. All three cars came to a small cabin nestled in woods. From the outside it looked plain but nice. He followed O’Conner into the cabin. The muscle stuck close to his side, the threat was implied.

It was a simple cabin, sparse furnishing and heavy drapes to block out the sun. The only source of light was the ceiling light in the kitchen where a young girl was eating cereal. It was Emily. She had two guards. They were both older, heavyset guys. she didn’t look up when they came in. she shoveled food into her mouth as though she hadn’t eaten in a while and was sure that it was going to be taken away from her soon. He didn’t have the luxury of feeling guilty for putting her in this situation.

“Do you believe in insurance Mr. Crowder?” O’Conner asked.

“I do”

“So do I and I have bought insurance to insure that you will do as you have promised.” O’Conner said gleefully.

“I assure you, that is not necessary.” Boyd looked innocent and didn’t pay any notice to Emily.

“That girl over there is Emily Reed” Mr. O’Conner said. Emily flinched slightly and then resumed eating, doing her best not to react. Boyd turned to O’Conner with a puzzled expression.

“I’m afraid I don’t know anyone by that name.”

“That’s delightful, that means I get to be the one to tell you!” O’Conner clapped his hands in excitement. “Emily is your daughter, you remember an Eleanor Reed, and I understand you two were intimate.” O’Conner was smiling maliciously at this point, what a psycho.

“That’s not possible” Boyd acted flustered, working his jaw as if he couldn’t find the words.

“This is going to be great, better than on TV; you’ll be here until tomorrow so I’m sure you two will find plenty to talk about.”

“Look, I don’t have a kid.”

“A little birdie told me otherwise. I see the resemblance don’t you Mike?” O’Conner turned to one of his body guards, the bodyguard nodded.

“Well, I don’t so I don’t know where you found this girl but, it was a stupid idea to take her.”

“So you think we should release her?”

“Whatever you want to do.” Boyd backed up, not wanting to be too enthusiastic about releasing her.

“Well, get rid of her then.” One of the men near Emily pulled out his gun and aimed at her head. Emily dropped the spoon.

“Wait!” Boyd shouted. “I can’t just watch you kill an innocent girl.”

“Good, I was hoping you would say that. If not we would have to go grab that pretty blonde you’re living with and that would be a hassle. Here’s the deal; you do what I ask, the girl remains unharmed.”

“And when this is over?” Boyd knew they were never going to let Emily go, she had seen too many faces already.

“Oh, this isn’t going to be over for a while.” He smiled like he had just eaten a canary.

One of O’Conner’s guys came up behind him with a pair of handcuffs. The instinct to fight flared up inside of him. Five men in the room, all armed, with his daughter. He stood by docilely while one of them took his arm and lead him to what must have once been a bedroom. He didn’t fight him but, the man shoved him into the wall for good measure.  The man dangled the handcuffs in front of his face as a warning. They brought in Emily next.

The door was closed behind her, locked. The walls in the cabin were thin; four people could plainly be heard leaving the cabin. That left them one guard. In the room was a cot with one of those tiny pillows from airplanes and a threadbare blanket. There was a bathroom in the room adjacent. Toilet paper, soap, and shampoo samples from shitty hotels were the only contents. He went back into the bedroom to find Emily sitting on the cot, staring at him with wide eyes.

“It’s going to be okay” his words sounded hollow but, he wanted to reassure her.

“Are you really my dad?” Emily asked. She looked scared of him and that just about broke his heart.

“Well if I am, this is the first I’m hearing of it.” Boyd was sure that they would be listening and he didn’t want to reveal too much. He pretended like he didn’t know.

“But you know my mom?”

“Eleanor, yeah it’s possible.” He admitted.

“Why did they take me? How am I insurance?”

“They want me to do something from them; you’re here to ensure that I will do it.”

“What happens to me if you don’t do it?” Emily looked up at him, eyes wide. She looked a lot like his mother’s side of the family.

“Don’t worry about it; I’ll do what they ask.” Boyd said. He went around the small room inspecting every nook and cranny for a listening device.

“What are you doing?” Emily finally asked.

“Looking for a bug”

“The wall are paper thin, they probably don’t need a bug.” She said. Boyd needed to be sure so he kept looking. He could feel Emily’s eyes on him, studying him. He wanted to tell her that he was her father and he was so sorry to have gotten her into this, but he couldn’t he had to keep up his dumb hillbilly persona.

“If it makes you feel any better, my father knew about me so that means you can’t be him.” Emily said.

“No, that doesn’t make me feel better.” Boyd gave her a grim smile. Kid, was trying to make him feel better.

“I’m Boyd Crowder” he held out his hand to her.

“Emily Reed” she took it tentatively. A few hours later the guard came in the room to bring them each two granola bars and a bottle of water and then left them alone.


	13. Chapter 13

_September 2010, Lexington_

 

Eleanor and her family had arrived in Kentucky and had spent hours with the police, telling them everything. When Dan and the kids went to the hotel she rented a second car and went to the courthouse to find Raylan.  They hugged, she clutched to his familiarity with desperation. Raylan wasn’t one inclined to touching but, he held her while she cried silently. She knew she was making a scene and all of his coworkers were probably staring at her right now, but she didn’t care. Her daughter was missing. She had the right to cry. Raylan patted her back awkwardly and made soft shushing noises in an effort to comfort her. She let go before she could get snot on Raylan’s nice dress shirt.

“You know, when she said she wanted to go to school in Kentucky I panicked. Then I thought, its Lexington what could happen?” Eleanor said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Raylan gave her a sympathetic look; after all he had been drawn back to Kentucky too. An older balding man with a permanent frown etched on his face came to stand with them.

“This is my boss, Art; he always wonders why I hate Kentucky so much.” Raylan introduced him.

“Why don’t we go into my office to talk?” Art suggested. They followed him to the office in the back. Eleanor looked straight ahead with her head held high, not meeting any of the curious glances. She sat down in one of the chairs. Art and Raylan pulled down the blinds to the office. Who made an office with glass walls anyway?

“Raylan filled me in on the genealogy of your family, got to say I was surprised and not many things surprise me these days.” Art said taking his seat.

“I talked to Boyd, the Dixie Mafia has been asking him to work for them, and he said he turned them down.” Raylan told Eleanor.

“What do they want him to do?” Eleanor asked, surprised that the Dixie Mafia was the culprit.

“Blow stuff up, cause a distraction.”

“And they need to go to Harlan to find someone to do that?”

“He said it sounded off” Raylan shrugged.

“The police have tried to get a hold of him, he lives with Ava” Art gave them an update. Eleanor shot Raylan a questioning glance at that. “She keeps saying he’s not there.”

“Maybe she’ll talk to me” Raylan suggested and pulled his phone out of his back pocket.

“Mrs. Reed, there’s some things I still don’t understand about all this. How did you manage to keep all this a secret? Boyd Crowder has been under investigate for quite some time and your name didn’t even pop up” Art asked while glaring at Raylan as though it was his fault law enforcement had no idea she existed.

“We never acted like a couple in public so when I left no one thought anything of it.” Eleanor said. They went to such great lengths to hide it; she sometimes forgot that it was a relationship at all.

“But why would you go to such lengths to hide your relationship?” Art frowned as if this whole thing sounded fishy.

“Have you heard about Boyd’s father, Bo?”

“Read his file”

“There was a guy that worked for Bo back in the day. He was a few years older than us. His name was Ronny. Ronny was a good guy but, he looked scary and he could hurt you if he wanted to. That’s what he did. He would scare people, beat them enough to hurt but wouldn’t cause serious damage. They would learn their lesson and do whatever it was Bo wanted them to do. One day Bo told Ronny not to stop; this guy needed a hard lesson. Ronnie said no, the guy had had enough. Ronny came home that night to find his wife in the living room, beaten to a pulp. She was pregnant at the time and had a miscarriage.” Eleanor told the story; Raylan was listening intently while the phone rang. Art looked surprised. Ava finally answered.

“Hello Ava, is Boyd there?”

“Police keep asking me that same thing. I told them I don’t know where he is. I’m not supposed to tell you till tomorrow but, I have a bad feeling about this.”

“What were you supposed to tell me?” Art turned his shrewd gaze toward his deputy.

“He told me that his daughter was kidnapped. He was going up to Frankfort to work with them, see if they took her. He asked me to tell you that if I hadn’t heard from him in two days.”

“Did he leave yesterday?”

“Yeah, guy that talked to him was named O’Conner.”

“Do you know anything else?”

“No, and Raylan he’s real torn up about this. Find that girl okay”

“I will thank you Ava.” Raylan hung up to see Art looking at him expectantly. Eleanor looked grim, as though she had already figured out what he was up to.

“Boyd left yesterday to join up with the Mafia. Ava was supposed to call me after two days. The only name she got was O’Conner.” Raylan summarized. Art turned to the computer and started typing.

 

 

 

 

_September 2010, Frankfort_

 

It was night, he couldn’t see a thing. He couldn’t sleep; he was just sitting on the floor back up against the wall. Emily was lying on the cot but, she wasn’t asleep either. Outside he could hear their guard snoring.

“I lied” he whispered into the dark.

“What?” Emily asked after a beat.

“I knew who you were, this whole time, reason I’m here at all.” Boyd told her.

“Why did you lie?” she whispered.

“I want them to think they have the upper hand.”

“You have a plan to get out?” Emily shifted on the cot.

“Not so much a plan as pieces set in motion.” Boyd imitated moving a chess piece, which was silly since it was too dark to see.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Emily scooted closer to where he was sitting.

“Raylan, the US Marshal, knows about the Dixie Mafia and he will be told that I’m here with them.”

“The Dixie Mafia? That sounds made up” Emily didn’t sound to impressed,

“They are not, I assure you.”

“My mom told me that you were a murderer.” Emily sounded harsh.

“That’s true” Boyd said.

“Is that why you stayed away?”

“Your mother and I agreed that it was best if no one knew who your father was. We were afraid of something like this happening.”

“So you knew this would happen?”

“Not this particular situation, but something like it. I’m sorry it came to this” Boyd said. Emily didn’t say anything for a long time. They listened to the guard’s snores.

“Mom told me I’m named after Emily Dickenson. I never liked her poems.” She said. Boyd smothered a laugh.

“Have you read them?”

“Just a couple in school, I’m not a fan of poetry in general. I like to read though. I’m going through Stephen King right now.”

“I didn’t care for Stephen King, I don’t like scary stories.” Boyd admitted.

“You don’t like scary stories, well aren’t you the badass.” Emily teased.

“I never said I was a badass.”

“So how long is this plan to get rescued going to take?”

“I don’t have a plan, but people know that I’m here and of course the police are looking for you.”

“They’re doing a bang up job so far.”

“Well, these guys are professionals.”

“So, what did you do to get their attention?”

“I’m not sure yet, I’m sure it will become apparent soon enough. Mr. O’Conner doesn’t appear to be the subtle type.” Boyd said to the darkness.

“How did you meet my mom?” she asked.

“Freshmen biology project.”

“She said the same thing about Raylan.”

“It was the three of us in the group. We became friends for a short time. We didn’t start seeing each other till we were nineteen.”

“What happened next?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why doesn’t anyone talk about this? You loved her right? And she loved you for some reason and no one will tell me what the secret is” Emily was whispering but her voice was higher pitched than normal. This was apparently weighing heavily on her mind.

“Well, you are the secret, you and your brother.” Boyd wasn’t sure what exactly Eleanor had told her, he needed to be as vague as possible.

“Why?”

“Two young people not ready to be parents.”

“I don’t buy that, you just said you were afraid of something like this happening, someone using your kids against you.” Emily wasn’t going to buy that story.

“If you got it all figured out then why are you still asking questions?” Boyd said trying to understand what question she was really asking.

“Who are you afraid of? It’s not these guys.”

“Tell me about your life, in Richmond, are you happy there? Is Jake happy? Your mom got married and has a nice house in the suburbs and a good job. All of that couldn’t have happened if your mom didn’t leave.” Boyd tried to explain without explaining anything at all.

“I thought you hadn’t talked to her?” Emily asked.

“I check up on you guys from time to time.” He said. Emily didn’t answer. The guard stopped snoring and got out of bed. The walls are so thin they could hear him using the restroom in the quiet. “Don’t talk about any of this when they can hear you.”

“Okay” Emily agreed. The guard went back to sleep and after a time so did Emily.

 

 

_April 1988, Harlan_

“Coach Morgan’s wife makes fried chicken on Friday nights” Bowman said.

“Well if you want fried chicken why don’t you learn how to make it yourself” Boyd snapped. The coach and his wife were out of town and Bowman hadn’t managed to wrangle a dinner invitation from anyone, leaving him at home to suffer through whatever Boyd had decided to cook. Tonight it was spaghetti and meatballs. Bowman’s friends were getting fed up with his mooching, a concept he couldn’t understand. Boyd warmed up canned corn as a side dish. Bowman sixteen and a football star. The teenager didn’t do anything around the house and expected Boyd to bow down at his feet. It was getting ridiculous. His father walked in through the front door.

“Hey boys” he greeted, finding them both in the kitchen. Bo was big and imposing, taking up a lot of space in their tiny kitchen.

“Hey Dad!” Bowman beamed.

“How was practice today?” their father asked.

“Good, I’m the best they got. I can win all the games this season.” Bowman puffed out his chest. Boyd rolled his eyes and started to cut up the last two apples. He would need to go to the grocery tomorrow. Bowman ate a lot of food. He would have to ask his father for money. Bowman ran to his room leaving him alone with his father.

“I need you to pick up something for me tonight, a shipment coming up from Tennessee. They’ll meet you at the welcome to Kentucky sign.”

“When?” he asked, wanting to protest that it was a school night.

“Should be around two but, who knows they might be late.” Bo said. He had a chemistry test tomorrow that he needed to study for. Bo was trying to get him to quit school. You don’t need what they’re trying to teach you his father would say. He was intent on finishing despite his father’s demands. It was getting hard and despite all of his effort his grades were starting to slip, which was probably for the best, it would be weird if a Crowder was valedictorian.

“I’ll head down there at midnight.” It was always best to be early with these people.

“Great” his father slapped him on the back and he went into the living room and turned on the TV. It probably hadn’t occurred to either of them to set the table. He called them in when dinner was ready. Bo said grace.

“This isn’t as good as Mrs. James’s spaghetti.” Bowman complained.

“Be grateful your brother bothers to feed you at all.” Bo chastised. He was surprised at his father, It was nice to be appreciated he supposed.

All three of them eating dinner together was a rare event. Boyd found himself pained by the loss of his mother; they had never managed to be a family since then. Days like this, eating dinner together, made it seem like a grotesque parody of what they used to be. After dinner Boyd did the dishes and went upstairs to pack a bag. Last time he had done this on a school night the boys from Tennessee had been late and he had barely gotten to school on time, wearing the same clothes as yesterday. He packed a change of clothes, some water and Bowman had eaten all the granola bars. He would have to stop at a gas station on the way anyways, he could pick up food then. He brought his notes to study and a book in case this went longer than usual.

The shipment ran smoothly, the Tennessee boys were on time and he got a couple hours of sleep before driving to school.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh I haven’t updated in forever, I’m so sorry. I realized that what I had written for this story was happening to fast and I still had some flashbacks to squeeze in so I had to write all this new material and it’s really disjointed but I wanted to post it anyway so…

_September 2010, Frankfort_

The next morning O’Conner and two others arrived at the cabin. O’Conner was speaking on the phone unaware that through the thin walls Boyd could hear every word. Apparently Boyd coming to them and joining the operation voluntarily had not been expected and now they were “ahead of schedule” whatever that meant. Emily was asleep on the cot. He was sitting in the back corner, legs stretched out in front of him. He was stiff and he was too old to be sitting like this all night. He could hear someone shuffling around in the kitchen. After a time some of the guards came in to get them. One was a tall kid with acne scars and floppy blonde hair. The other was a tough looking Asian guy. He stood up stiffly and tapped on Emily’s shoulder. She jerked awake, eyes filled with alarm.

“We got breakfast” the Asian guy said, making it sound sinister. Emily got out of bed without looking at him and followed the guard. The blonde kid waited to get behind Boyd as they were leaving the room. They sat down at the tiny kitchen table, two bowls of cheerios had been poured. Two glasses of water had also been poured. Boyd was directed to the seat in front of the window. As he sat down at the table he noticed that the glass of water in front of him was a different pattern than Emily’s and the one that O’Conner held in his hand. It’s possible that this cabin has different patterns of glassware but, he was starting to think they were trying to frame him. If they got his finger prints they could do all sorts of things. Maybe they wanted to blame him in order to exonerate one of their own. Still didn’t answer the question of why him? His record? Other people had criminal records, was it just because he was a scumbag the police wouldn’t investigate to closely? He would have to wait for more information to become available to him. They ate quickly and in silence.  Emily finished first; she sat still with her eyes glued to the table. When Boyd finished he also waited, careful not to touch the glass of water.

“That’s the only water you’re going to get so drink it now.” The blonde said. Emily picked up her glass and gulped down the water, still not meeting anyone’s gaze. Boyd reached for the glass slowly, they definitely wanted his fingerprints. After breakfast they were escorted back to their room. Nothing else happened all day. With the guards right outside, they couldn’t talk about anything important, Emily respecting his wishes.

“They treating you okay?” he finally asked.

“I’m a hostage” she said venomously.

“I mean are they feeding you, are they hurting you?”

“They have been leaving me alone and I get one meal a day.” Emily replied. Boyd wanted to say he was sorry but, he couldn’t find the words. Throughout the day they made awkward small talk but, Emily didn’t seem comfortable with the revelation that he was her father. Of course these were not the best circumstances. She kept glancing at him, thinking he wasn’t looking, with this look of disgust, unwilling to believe that a person like him existed.  

 

_September 2010, Lexington_

“I can’t believe this is happening” Dan said on the way to their hotel room after Dan had picked her up from the courthouse. He had expressed that particular sentiment several times since they had learned about Emily’s disappearance. As soon as Dan opened the door Jake and Colin rushed to meet them.

“Have they found anything?” Jake asked quickly.

“They haven’t learned anything new” Eleanor told them. Her son’s faces fell with the bad news.

“They do have a new lead after your mom explained all of this nonsense with her murdering hillbilly boyfriend.” Dan said mockingly as he threw his coat onto the bed.

“What?” Colin looked to her to explain.

“I told the police about who Emily’s real father is so they can look into that angle.” Eleanor explained, shooting an annoyed look at her husband.

“You think my father is behind the kidnapping?” Jake asked, shocked.

“No, I think that someone may have wanted to get to him and is using Emily to do it. He mentioned that the Dixie Mafia has been hassling him to do a job for them.”

“The mafia!” Colin exclaimed.

“It’s not the Mafia” Dan said, placating the worried kid.

“Well, we hope it’s the Mafia” Eleanor said.

“You _hope_ it’s the Mafia?” Dan screeched.

“The Dixie Mafia is a known quantity, and I know Boyd can handle them.” Eleanor tried to explain.

“So you think your murdering, drug dealing, criminal baby daddy is going to save Emily.” Dan’s tone dripped with condescension.  She knew he was upset but this was still Boyd he was mocking, this was her _world_ he was mocking. Her spine stiffened and she folded her arms against her chest. Jake sat on the bed and watched the drama unfold. Colin looked embarrassed at his dad’s use of the term “baby daddy” and if this wasn’t so serious she would have laughed at Dan’s attempt at slang.

“I know Emily’s going to be okay” she said. Between Boyd, Raylan and herself, she pitied the man that dared to harm a daughter of Harlan.

 

_June 1989, Harlan_

Half of a bottle of stolen Jim Beam and Raylan wasn’t sure exactly what was coming out of his mouth.

“I hate it down there, ever’ time I go down that hole I think I ain’t coming back up.” He had nightmare at night, him dying in that goddamn mine.

“You can’t think about it like that” Boyd’s words weren’t slurred but, he had drank as much as him so he had to be pretty wasted at this point.

“How don’t you think about it?” Raylan rolled over in the grass so he could look at Boyd.

“I think about Eleanor” Boyd was flat on his back looking up at the stars.

“What?”

“I love her” Boyd said softly. Raylan felt like something important had been revealed but he was way too drunk to understand why this was so important. “I shouldn’t’ but I can’t help it.  I can’t love.”

“Why not?” Raylan asked because he was pretty sure that everyone could love.

“What my daddy says, I can bury myself in girls but, don’t ever fall in love, it’s a weakness you see.”

“I think El likes you too” Raylan wasn’t sure where the words came from but now that he had spoken them out loud he was certain that they were right. Eleanor did talk about Boyd a lot, that means that she likes him right?

“Why? No one likes me” Boyd said to the night sky.

“I like you” Raylan offered.

“You’re really drunk right now Raylan.”

“That’s true but it don’t mean that I don’t like you.”

“I suppose” Boyd muttered. Boyd didn’t sound that drunk.

Raylan woke up the next morning in his bed with a terrible hangover and only fuzzy memories from the night before. How he got into his house was a mystery. Maybe Boyd was sober enough to drive at some point.

 

 

_September 2010, Lexington_

Art stood in front of Raylan’s desk. Raylan looked up expectantly but Art didn’t say anything for a while, he just stared. Raylan couldn’t identify the expression but, it was similar to pity.

“I just heard from Frankfort. Boyd’s fingerprints were found at a crime scene. A bookie was murdered in his home. Bookie fixed a glass of water for his killer.”

“Let me guess Boyd’s prints are on the glass”

“I think you need to consider that Boyd is behind this.”

“He’s not”

“How are you so sure?”

“Why kidnap his daughter who doesn’t even know who he is.”

“There is no evidence that the kidnapping is connected with Boyd. What we do know is that Boyd killed a man in Frankfort.”

“This still doesn’t feel right.”

“Well you can’t always be right Raylan.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am writing this note to warn everyone that this chapter does contain a bombing of a public place. It is not graphic or anything so I am leaving the rating as it is but if anyone thinks it should be changed for any reason please let me know. If anyone wants to skip this chapter feel free to do so, the main points will be covered again in later chapters

_September 2010, Frankfort_

Boyd must have drifted off sometime because he woke up to the bedroom door opening. O’Conner was standing there. He hauled Boyd to his feet and led him out of the room. Emily didn’t wake up. Boyd was stiff from sleeping on the floor; couldn’t they put an extra chair in here or something?

“We have work for you to do today Boyd. We have Emulex; I’m told you’re familiar with the substance, which you will plant underneath a car. Don’t worry, no one will be in the car, this is simply a distraction so that other things can occur. Your part in this is really quite simple. Mike over here will drive you to the location, you plant it, and then you walk back to the car and Mike will drive you back here. Simple right?” O’Conner looked so pleased he might as well have been twirling his moustache like a movie villain.

“Very simple” Boyd confirmed. He was sure there would be several security cameras to document his actions. They wanted a fall guy, still didn’t explain why they needed him specifically. Mike and two others took him away from the cabin He was taken into a car, a white Toyota. His hands were handcuffed in front of him and they watched him closely in case he tried to escape. They didn’t have to worry about that, he wouldn’t try to escape unless he had Emily with him anyway. They blindfolded him so he couldn’t tell where they were going, which was silly, and also made him carsick. They made it to wherever they were going before he threw up, which was good. They took off the blindfold when the car stopped. They were in downtown Frankfort. It was evening and quite a few pedestrians were walking on the sidewalk. One of the guys got out of the car, presumably to make sure the area was clear. The other guy got out a little later and went in the opposite direction.

“We have to wait for the go ahead; we got to time this right.” Mike told him. This was a busy enough street; someone was bound to get hurt if a bomb went off.

“Are you waiting for someone?” Boyd asked. Mike wisely said nothing. They waited for close to twenty minutes. It did nothing to alleviate his carsickness. When Mike’s phone rang and his boss gave him the go ahead, Boyd was released.

Mike handed him a cardboard box, “Start walking that way and place this behind the front tire of the silver sedan over there, don’t try anything funny because we’re watching you. Then come right back to this car and get in.” Boyd took the package and nodded. Have they been riding around with an armed, highly destructive, weapon this whole time? Jesus Christ.

Boyd strolled along the street with the cardboard box; no one gave him a second glance. He could see one of O’Conner’s guys at the coffee shop ahead of him. He noticed the security camera across the street from the sedan. The getaway car was well out of range. The sedan was in perfect view. This was so obviously an amateur job. He felt embarrassed to even be here, even if he was being coerced. When he got to the sedan he looked inside, no one was in the car. He was well lit from the street lamp, ensuring that there would be no mistake that Boyd Crowder was to blame for this. He put the box on the street behind the front tire. Then he straightened and turned around to go back to the car. There were too many people on the street, too many variables, too many ways this could go wrong.

When he got back to the car Mike’s phone chirped. The text seemed to be some sort of confirmation so Mike put the car in drive and went a couple of streets over then pulled out the detonator. Boyd closed his eyes and waited for the boom. It came; screams could be heard from where they were stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, none of the cars moved, drivers confused. He wondered how many of them would continue to go about their day as if nothing had happened, probably all of them. Mike pulled over in a parking space to handcuff him again and put the blindfold back on. When Mike started driving again Boyd didn’t think he could make it to their destination without getting sick.

“Pull over, I’m going to puke” he muttered.

“I’m not falling for that trick, Crowder” Mike spoke.

“Seriously, I’m in a moving vehicle with a blindfold, I’m very susceptible to motion sickness.” Boyd pulled his legs to one side and focused to not spewing his guts.

“We’re like ten minutes away, just hold on” Mike offered the most unhelpful advice ever.

“At least roll down the window, it’s too stuffy in here.” Boyd asked. Mike did roll down the window. It seemed much longer than ten minutes but the car did finally stop. His door was opened and he staggered a few steps away from the car and went to his knees, losing his meager breakfast. From behind him he heard Mike making a disgusted noise.  He stayed kneeling on the ground until someone grabbed his arms and hauled him up. They uncuffed him and took off the blindfold and lead him inside. It was one of O’Conner’s other goons. He was shoved him into the bedroom unceremoniously. Emily looked up in surprise. The door was quickly shut behind them and locked. Boyd made his way to the bathroom to splash water on his face. Emily followed.

“You look like shit, what happened?” She whispered urgently.

“I suffer from motion sickness.”

“So what they just took you on a scenic tour?” she said sarcastically.

“No, they had me blow up a car on a busy street.” He said. Emily gasped.

“Was anyone hurt?”

“I don’t know” He said honestly.


	16. Chapter 16

_July 1989, Harlan_

 

Raylan was in his truck driving away from Helen’s. He wasn’t ready to go home yet so he pulled over and stood under the stars. That envelope of cash sat in the passenger seat, Three thousand dollars. He could go to college, get a job doing anything other than mining. This was going to save him. He briefly wondered where Helen had gotten the money and concluded that he didn’t really want to know. He was being offered a chance at a better life and he was going to take it. He was getting out. He was getting out. He would say goodbye and pack his things. He would have to say goodbye to Eleanor and Boyd, he owed them that much. It gave him a sick feeling to his stomach to think about his friends. They would be here in Harlan, probably for the rest of their lives. He wrestled with his emotions for at least an hour before going home. He would go to Lexington but, it felt like betrayal.

He started packing when he got home, his mom and Arlo where both asleep and he had a long day ahead of him tomorrow but, he was too wired to fall asleep so he packed up his clothes and some of his favorite books. He didn’t have very many things to take with him. He found a photo of his mother and Helen that was taken a few years ago. He took that photo and few others and put them in a shoebox to keep them safe. One photo in the stack he couldn’t remember ever seeing. It was of Eleanor, Boyd, and himself. They were younger, maybe fifteen. It looked like it was taken outside of the school. He was standing to the side and looked like he was trying not to laugh. Eleanor had her head thrown back in laughter with one hand reaching out for Boyd. Boyd was turned toward her with a fond smile. He wasn’t sure where the idea came from but, he knew that Boyd loved her. He hadn’t noticed it back then but, looking at this photo it was obvious Boyd was head over heels in love with Eleanor. He wondered if they could ever be happy together. He couldn’t think of a way.

He ended up falling asleep for a few hours. When he came down for breakfast he told his mother that he was leaving.

“I can’t work in the mines” he explained. His mother looked like she wanted to cry but, she understood. He felt terrible for leaving her here with Arlo but, Helen had promised to look after her. She wiped her eyes and smiled, truly happy for him. She hugged him for a long time. They had pancakes together. Arlo wasn’t awake and he didn’t want to wait around to say goodbye to the asshole. His mother looked disappointed when he said that.

Next he went to Eleanor’s house. When she opened the door it was like she could see it on his face, Eleanor had always been able to read him like a book.

“I’m leaving” his voice came out wrong, sounding like a frog was stuck in his throat. She embraced him, squeezing so tightly it was hard to breathe. Maybe she was trying to anchor him to this place. When she finally let go he could see she was crying. Which made him want to cry but, he was determined not to.

“Where are you going?”

“Lexington for now, then I’ll go to college somewhere.”

“I’m so proud of you” she said, which was not what he was expecting. He had so many things he wanted to say to her. He wanted to thank her for being such a good friend, but how do you thank someone for that? He wanted to say that she was better than this place and she had to get out. He wanted to tell her to take care of Boyd and not let any of Bo’s shit drag him under. He wanted to tell her that Boyd loved her, but it wasn’t his secret to tell. What he did end up saying was, “I guess this is goodbye.”

“No it’s not, I fully intend on seeing you again Raylan Givens.” She smiled a bright and beautiful smile.

“Okay, I’ll see you again.” He spoke words he knew would be a lie. He wanted to be a hero and come back to his friends and help them out but, he knew he wouldn’t do it. It would be too late. She was smart enough to realize that and she was happy for him all the same. Her whole family came to the door to say their goodbyes. Eleanor’s mother gave him a pie for the road. Which was sweet but, how was he supposed to eat a pie in the car. Her brother Jacob shook his hand and seemed genuinely happy to see him go. Even cousin Teddy wished him well. When he went on his round of farewells he hadn’t thought about Boyd being in the mine. He didn’t want to wait until his shift was over but, he couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. A note seemed too simple. He went to Helen next. He asked her to talk to Boyd and explain that he had to go but, wanted to say goodbye. Helen assured him that she would tell him. And then he drove away from Harlan. It felt like betrayal, though he couldn’t pin down why.

 

_September 2010, Frankfort_

 

 

They were in that room for what seemed like a long time. Emily seemed to be angry at him but, it’s not like he choose to blow up a car, at least not this time around. The guards came into get them finally; they brought them out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Mike had a takeout bag from McDonalds. The hamburgers were cold. At least it was food. Emily ate quickly but, he couldn’t stomach the grease and fat. When O’Conner came up to the table Emily was still munching on fries.

“Load this gun for me” O’Conner asked. He was wearing black leather gloves and placed a .38 and four bullets onto the table.

“You want me to get my fingerprints all over that?” Boyd said.

“You’re not as dumb as you look” O’Conner laughed as though he was a puppy that learned a new trick. Boyd took the gun and loaded it. O’Conner smiled brightly, taking the gun and leaving. He was starting to feel sick to his stomach again. Boyd slid his fries over to Emily; she gave him a questioning glance.

“Aww, aren’t you cute” Mike mocked before roughly hauling him to his feet. They were escorted back to their room again. Emily sat on the cot finishing the fries. Boyd sat down in the corner.

“I’m going to take a shower” Emily announced. “Why don’t you take the cot and try to get some sleep.”

“Thanks” he would need his rest. Tonight, if the opportunity presented itself he was going to get them out of here. So he lay on the cot and tried to sleep, he was tired so it didn’t take long at all.

He woke a few hours later needing to use the restroom. Emily was dozing in the back corner. After he had taken care of business he tapped her on the shoulder. She flinched before realizing it was him.

“Why don’t you take the bed” he whispered. She didn’t protest and climbed onto the cot. Emily fell asleep almost immediately. The guard was staying up late milling around in the living room; he could hear the TV faintly. Boyd waited, they had to get out of here and if they weren’t going to feed them regularly he would soon be too weak to fight his way out. Boyd was a patient man; he could wait for the guard to fall asleep. He sat in the dark listening to the guards every move. He waited for who knows how long before finally he heard snores. He went over to Emily and tapped her on the shoulder.

“I’m going to try and break out of here, you need to go and sit in the bathtub.” He whispered needing her to understand what was going to happen.

“What?” she said confused.

“Just stay in the bathtub, no matter what you hear okay?” he pleaded. These thin walls wouldn’t stop a bullet, the bathroom would be safest.

“Okay” she agreed finally waking up and understanding what was going on. She stared at him wide eyed, she looked scared. Once Emily had closed the door to the bathtub Boyd turned to face the door and prepared to kick it down. The flimsy door gave way easily, making quite a racket. Boyd wasted no time and rushed to where he knew the guard was. The man had been startled awake at the crash and was standing as Boyd rushed at him, knocking him down. Boyd straddled him and hit him twice in the face, hoping that would daze him long enough to find his gun. The gun was in his waistband. He had him disarmed quickly.

“Where are the handcuffs?” Boyd asked.

“Why would I tell you asshole” The man clutched his bloody nose.

“Well I can’t have you following me so I can kill you or I can handcuff to the radiator over there and you can wait till your buddies get here.”

“They’re in the table by the door.” The guy muttered. Boyd moved to the door, the handcuffs were right where he said they would be. He turned back to the guard and motioned for him to stand up. The man stood slowly before lunging at him, brandishing a knife, which must have been in his boot. Boyd jerked out of the way and fired the gun just as the man reached him. Boyd felt the knife slid into his abdomen as the guard slumped over. Boyd grabbed at the knife with his free hand, trying not to jostle it as the man fell to his knees. His bullet had hit the man in his chest; he was alive and clutching at his chest, trying to lessen the flow of blood. He could live if help arrived soon. Boyd looked down at his own wound which wasn’t too serious. He ignored the injury and turned his attention back to the situation. Boyd gently removed the pocket knife and slipped it into his pocket and slid the gun into his waistband. He went through the guard’s pockets and found his phone, which of course the phone was dead because he had the worst luck. He glanced around the small cabin, there didn’t appear to be a landline either. He counted the rounds in the gun, six bullets.

“Emily!” he called out. She quickly appeared looking awfully relieved to see him.

“Is he dead?” she asked staring at the guard.

“No, come on now, we have to go.” Boyd said. Emily didn’t move from where she stood, staring at the dying man. He took her hand and led her to the door. He stepped outside and noticed something else was wrong. There was no car in the driveway. No car, there was no car. Now that he thought about it the guard didn’t have keys either. Why would they leave their own man out here alone without a car?

“Shit” he cursed. “Let’s go” he started walking.

“Wait, isn’t there a phone, we should just call 911” Emily said,

“Phones dead and there’s no car, we have to start walking.” Boyd said. They were surrounded on all sides by a dark forest. He entered the woods perpendicular to the road.

“Shouldn’t we at least stick to the road?” Emily said frantically.

“Anyone can see us on the road, and who do you think uses this road.” His instinct was to head for the hills anyway.

“The bad guys” Emily agreed.  After another few feet Boyd turned right so that they would be traveling parallel to the road. Emily stumbled behind him and he turned to catch her.

“How can you see where you’re going” she grumbled.

“It’s like a sixth sense.” He said.

“Okay, its like, pitch black out here, how is stumbling through the woods a good idea.” Emily said. She tripped over something, accentuating her point, and landed on her hands and knees. She stood and brushed off dirt from her knees “I’m going to break an ankle, how about we just wait until daylight to go hiking.”He had to admit she had a point.

“Alright” he conceded and lowered himself to the ground with a grunt. Now that all the adrenaline was wearing off there was a delightful throbbing in his abdomen to remind him of his stab wound. He shifted around until he found a small tree to lean against.

“Thank you” Emily huffed and plopped herself on the forest floor next to him. The ground was damp; he could feel it through his jeans. Daylight couldn’t come soon enough. He gathered his pea coat around the wound and used both hands to apply pressure. He wished he was back at Ava’s, maybe she would take care of him.

“Tell me about your family.” Emily asked after a while, eager to get more answers now that no one was listening in.

“What do you want to know?” Boyd asked; why was the girl so fixated on the subject anyway? Couldn’t she tell this was best left forgotten?

“Anything, do you have any siblings?” she asked.

“I had a brother, he died earlier this year.” Boyd didn’t want to talk about any of this.

“I’m so sorry, what happened to him?” Emily sounded sincere. She scooted closer so their shoulders were touching, he assumed it was some sort of comforting gesture, not that he was particularly familiar with those.

“His wife shot him, because he had been abusive” Emily was silent, apparently not having a response to that one. “We were never that close” he added.

“What about your parents?” she asked softly.

“My mom died when I was thirteen, she was a good woman, and I still miss her. My father died last month.”

“Geez, you’ve had a bad year” Emily responded. He made a humming noise in response, he wasn’t sure if this year was entirely bad. Raylan’s bullet had allowed him to change his course. He had apologized to Ava, something the old him could never do. She even seemed to have forgiven him in some respects. His father’s death liberated him from all sorts of things. “How did he die?” This time Emily didn’t sound so sure that she wanted to know.

“He was shot, by the Miami cartel” he decided to omit the part where he wanted to kill his own father.

“A cartel killed him? I’m going to assume he wasn’t a good guy.”

“We should keep quiet, they will notice that we’re gone eventually.” Boyd told her

“You know, I always wondered about my father.” Emily said, apparently ignoring his advice. “I just felt like there was this part of me that I couldn’t access. Mom always said she didn’t know who my dad was so I felt like I could never figure it out but, this whole thing with the kidnapping and you… well, I think I was better off not knowing” Emily admitted. That stung, he knew it shouldn’t he had given up being a part of their lives a long time ago but, it hurt. He felt like he should say something but, for once words escaped him. Emily tucked her legs up to her chest. They sat in silence. Not that the forest was silent by any means. Crickets chirped and other animal scurried around in the night. Emily tensed every time something rustled the leaves anywhere close to them. It was getting cool out. Boyd kept his left hand pressing over the wound and closed his eyes, hoping to get some rest.


	17. Chapter 17

_September 2010, Lexington_

 

When Raylan walked into the office the next morning Tim brought him up to speed. They had heard from Frankfort, a car had exploded on a busy street last night. Three people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. After another hour of hounding the Frankfort PD Art had gotten them a look at the surveillance footage. They were waiting for Raylan to watch it. Tim made some crack about him being late but, he was already on his way to Art’s office and couldn’t hear it.

“You got this surveillance footage?” Raylan asked immediately.

“I do, you want to see it?” Art looked down at him from behind his reading glasses. “You know this isn’t your case, this isn’t even any of the marshal’s business.”

“Are you going to let me see the tape or not?” Raylan asked, not wanting to deal with Art right now. Rachel and Tim came in to watch the video as well. Tim hated to miss any Harlan drama; he said it was better than HBO. There was lots of unnecessary violence at any rate. Rachel popped the disk in and sped through the footage until they got to the time stamp they wanted. The footage was taken to from across the street and was of a very good quality. They could all plainly see Boyd Crowder walking up to a silver car carrying a package. He paused a moment to stare directly at the camera before setting the package down and walking back the way he had come. It detonated a few minutes later. Rachel rewound the video to watch it again.

“He knew there was a camera, he looked right at it.” Raylan said.

“You think someone’s making him do this?” Art asked as Raylan watched the screen intently.

“Yeah, they’re setting him up for something.”

“Setting him up for what?”  Tim asked.

“Don’t know yet, I bet this won’t be the last we see of them.” Raylan predicted. He watched his old friend stare directly into the camera for a brief moment. What on earth did the Dixie Mafia gang want with Boyd?

“Maybe they want to take over Bo’s business and see Boyd as a threat.” Raylan mused.

“You think so?” Tim asked. His coworkers were all willing to defer to his superior knowledge of the people.

“I don’t know, I’m just thinking out loud.” Raylan admitted.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to just kill him if that were the case?” Tim said.

“Probably” Raylan admitted.

“I gave Frankfort PD all of our information on Boyd; they didn’t seem all that convinced when I told them the theory of the Mafia orchestrating this whole thing.”

“So they think Boyd’s behind this whole thing?” Raylan said.

“Basically” Art replied.

“Wait, Boyd told me that they want him to create a distraction. Back when he was robbing banks he would blow up something to get the police out of the way and then go rob a bank. We need to find what else was going on at that time” Raylan told them.

“So the Mafia stole that move from his playbook.” Art said “this is kind of clever.” Art shuffled off to go talk to Frankfort again.

 

 

 

 

_September 2010, Frankfort_

 

 

“Boyd!” someone was calling his name. He slowly swam towards consciousness. Emily was relieved when he finally opened his eyes. “Hey, I was afraid you wouldn’t wake up there for a second.” It was barely light outside, but they could see well enough to walk. “I think we should go” Emily was saying.

“Yeah” his voice came out a croak. He tried to be mindful of his injury while he stood but, dried blood and cloth pulled away from the wound causing it to start bleeding again.

“Oh my God” Emily’s hand flew to her mouth. “You didn’t say anything about being hurt.” She looked up with accusation burning in her eyes.

“There wasn’t anything either of us could have done about it last night.” he turned his back on her and started walking.

“You still should have said something, what if you had died.” Emily’s eyes were wide as saucers and her hands kept fluttering about as if she didn’t quite know what to do with them.

“It’s not that serious.”

“How can you tell?”

“I’ve had worse.” Emily seemed disturbed to learn that little tidbit about his life. She walked next to him, hovering.  “I’m not going to pass out.” He reassured her.

“You did last night.”

“I was sleeping.”

“You wouldn’t wake up for a minute, you were definitely unconscious.” Emily insisted.

“Okay fine” he acquiesced. He let Emily hover since that seemed to make her feel better. She kept glancing at him every few minutes as if he was going to up and die on her right then. Boyd felt mostly fine and kept walking. There wasn’t a trail and they had to dodge all types of bushes and trees trying to keep parallel to the road. They didn’t get very far.

Boyd couldn’t tell you what it was that alerted him to their presence but, he suddenly knew that they were in danger. He pulled the gun out of his waistband and crouched down, pulling Emily with him. She was looking around wildly but didn’t make a sound. Someone was coming towards them from their right. Emily angled herself so she was partially hidden behind a blackberry bush. Boyd moved so he was behind a sycamore and waited for the person to come into view. It was the kid with the acne scars. From the way the kid was wondering aimlessly through the forest it was obvious that they hadn’t been spotted.

They would have to stay in this position until the kid wondered far enough away. They would have to go deeper in the forest and try not to get lost to avoid these guys. He wished he was back in Harlan, he knew those hills. This was a forest of random variables. When he could no longer hear the kid they stood and Boyd motioned Emily to be quiet and they started walking quickly away from the road.  He kept the gun in his hand. They hiked for maybe two hours, judging from the position of the sun. Emily kept glancing over her shoulder as he struggled to keep pace with her. The wound on his abdomen had yet to stop bleeding again and from the look of it was infected. But they had to keep moving.

Again he sensed them coming before they showed themselves. This time it was Mike and two others he didn’t recognize. They were fanning out in an attempt to surround them before they were spotted, apparently not realizing that they had already been made. Boyd turned and fired the gun hitting the one coming up on his left. As the man fell he turned to Emily. He was about to tell her to run. She would be a moving target, hard to hit but, the only reason she was here was to get to him. Out of their hands Emily would be a liability. She had seen her captors and would therefore have to be killed. If he stalled them would Emily be able to get away and find help before they went through him and found her? It was too big of a risk. Instead he dragged Emily along with him behind a nearby outcropping of limestone.

The remaining two guys had dropped to make a smaller target but he knew their approximate locations. He waited, gun held in both hands, for the sound of movement. Five bullets left. He didn’t have to wait too long, they were impatient. They started to move simultaneously, not like in the movies when the bad guys come one at a time. If they were the bad guys than that means that he was the good guy, who would have thought it. He prepared to go after the guy that would come up on their right. The guy spotted him and fired before Boyd could line up a shot. 

The shot buried itself in a nearby tree. Boyd waited for the guy to move again. He took aim and fired, sensing motion behind him, he quickly turned to see Mike grab Emily from above and hold a gun to her head. Honestly he should have considered one of them coming over the rock; it wasn’t that big of a rock. Emily jerked in surprise at the sudden assault before going still as she could feel the barrel of the gun. Boyd put the gun on the ground and held his hands up in surrender. The other guy was black with dyed blonde hair and a very unattractive face. He shoved Boyd in between the shoulder blades and watched him fall. Then he kicked him in the stomach hitting his injury. Emily closed her eyes as Boyd screamed in pain and Mike pulled out another pair handcuffs and tossed them to the new guy.

He then handcuffed Boyd’s hands behind his back and dragged him to his feet. Mike told Emily to keep her hands on her head as they were marched back to the road. Apparently they didn’t have anything to tie her hands together which struck her as incompetent. She briefly entertained the thought of attempting to escape but couldn’t think of a way that wouldn’t involve getting herself or Boyd killed. She looked over at Boyd and saw he was several shades whiter than his normal tan skin tone. Somehow he stumbled along with sheer stubbornness keeping him conscious. She realized that their situation would get worse after this failed escape attempt and that right now there was still a possibility that she could escape and lose them in the woods. She was a fast runner, though not faster than a bullet. She couldn’t leave Boyd though, which was stupid, she couldn’t do anything to help him. She was too loyal.

When they got to the road there was a car waiting for them. They were shoved in the backseat unceremoniously. O’Conner was driving and Mike got in the passenger seat. Boyd passed out, slumped against the window. Mike kept a close eye on her ensuring that her unbound hands did nothing to disrupt their plans again. They were not taken to the cabin but to another house out of the way. This time they were locked in a room with nothing inside of it, not even a cot. Three guards were posted at the cabin, one in the room with them at all times. Mike and one of the other guards carried in Boyd and dumped him in the middle of the floor with a painful thud. This was bad.

 

 

_July 1989, Harlan_

 

 

 

 

Eleanor found herself at his window in the middle of the night. She tapped on the glass twice before she lost the nerve. He opened the window blinking blearily at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Take a walk with me?” she asked. He heaved a sigh and retreated into the darkness of his room and returned a moment later with sneakers on his feet. They walked until they were far enough from his house.

“Raylan’s gone” Eleanor figured someone ought to tell him.

“I know” Boys answered.

“Who’d you hear it from?” Eleanor questioned.

“Well he wasn’t at the mine today so I figured he took Helen’s offer.”

“What was Helen’s offer?” Eleanor asked, she felt like she was missing something.

“Three grand” Boyd answered.

“Did Raylan tell you that?” Eleanor couldn’t see Boyd’s face in the darkness but she felt that he was holding something back. “You gave Helen the money” as soon as the words left her mouth Boyd tensed and she knew she had guessed correctly.

“How did you know?”  He asked.

“If Helen had the money she would have given it to him before he started at the mine. You on the other hand have been doing more work for your father. So what, are you going to live vicariously through Raylan or something?”

“Something like that” he murmered.

“What about you?” Eleanor asked sounding almost angry.

“What about me?” Boyd repeated unsure where Eleanor was going with this.

“You didn’t even try to help yourself; don’t you want to go to school? Make all your classmates feel stupid when you quote George Washington or something. You’re so smart Boyd.”

“I belong here, Raylan doesn’t” Boyd’s voice sounded almost serene.

“Well, it’s true _now_ I suppose.” She said, angry that he didn’t try harder to pull himself out of this situation.

“You don’t belong here either” Boyd told her.

“That’s not your call to make.” She wanted to say to Boyd that he didn’t belong in Harlan either but the truth was he did because Harlan was a tragedy, and has been for generations. Boyd was a tragic character, he belonged here.

“Quit the mine” she said because if Boyd wasn’t going to make this decision for himself she would do it for him.

“What?” Boyd whipped around to face her and stumbling to find this new track of conversation.

“That place is going to kill you and I can’t lose you too.” Eleanor said.

“I think I’ll be lost both ways.” Boyd said. If he wasn’t going to the mines then he would be working for Bo.

“We both know it’s only a matter of time before you quit so why not do it now before you get yourself killed.” Eleanor was whispering now and had to step closer so he could hear.

“What are you saying?” he was surprised to see she was on the verge of tears.

 “I can’t lose you “she repeated. There were so many things she wanted to express but couldn’t find the words; he was the one that was good with words. She just the shy kid that read books in the corner, she didn’t know how to deal with things like this. His brow was pinched and his head was cocked to the side like a puppy trying to understand. Boyd could be really adorable sometimes. She rushed forward and kissed him, well it was more of a smashing of lips. She pulled away just as quickly. She had never kissed anyone or been kissed before. Boyd looked shell shocked, obviously not anticipating that action, “say something” she implored.

“I’ll quit the mines” Boyd whispered.

“Say something about the kiss” she bit her lip nervously. He didn’t speak, he took a step closer and cradled her head in his hand and looked her right in the eyes before kissing her.


	18. Chapter 18

_September 2010, Lexington_

 

 

 

 

 

“Did you read the police report yet?” Tim asked.

“What report?” Raylan asked, frowning in confusion.

“The one that I sat on your desk with a post-it-note that said ‘read me’” Tim said with his ever present sarcasm. Raylan looked over at the desk spying the purple post-it-note.

“What is it about?”

“Unlike you, I don’t have the time to work on cases that aren’t actually my cases.”

“Wait it’s about Emily?” Raylan rolled over to the desk in his chair and opened the file. “Thanks Tim, I owe you one.”

“You keep saying that” Tim drawled before walking away. The report was taken earlier that morning. A woman had been hiking in the woods behind her house. She had stopped at a grove of trees to take a break when she saw two people walking some distance away, a man and a girl. She knew something was wrong and hides as the couple are attacked. The man and girl matched the description of Boyd and Emily. There is a brief shootout and several shots are fired, from where the witness was she couldn’t see anything. Three shell casings had been recovered. The man and girl are taken back with the men that had been shooting at them. The witness runs home to call the police. The witness actually told the dispatch that she was almost certain that it was the kidnapped girl she had seen on the news.

Raylan looked up this woman’s address and saw on Google maps that most of the subdivision backed up to these woods. They could have been held in anyone of these homes. When Tim made his way back to his desk Raylan called out thanks and started explaining what the file had indicated. Art and Rachel overheard and gravitated to him.

“I had a buddy of mine in Frankfort look into what else was going on during the bombing.” Art said, “The most likely candidate is a heroin shipment that the Dixie mafia had coming in. The local PD got a tip on the when and where and had a couple of uniforms watching the place, building six blocks away from the explosion. Close enough the uniforms got called away.”

“What a coincidence” Raylan spoke sarcastically at least maybe they will believe him now.

“So your instincts were right what do you want us to do? Throw you a party?” Art said.

“I just want to find them.”

“So you can be the hero?”

“No” Raylan looked confused, is that what Art thought of him? That he wanted to be a hero?

“Well Frankfort’s been searching all those houses today; it’s been all over the news, no luck.” Rachel added.

 

 

 

 

 

_February 1990, Harlan_

 

They kept it a secret. Boyd wasn’t sure how his father would react to the news, but they could both guess that it wouldn’t be good. And she wasn’t exactly looking forward to telling her mother that she was dating Boyd Crowder, the look on her face. The fact that she was keeping it a secret made her feel ashamed. Eleanor wasn’t ashamed of Boyd. Boyd wasn’t a bad guy a heart but, he could easily step into that man’s shoes. Sneaking around with a secret boyfriend was supposed to be fun and exciting. She wasn’t sure who had that idea because it was a stupid one. It was lonely. She had started working at Wal-Mart and some of the girls had been trying to set her up with boys that were friends of theirs. Boyd said she should agree to a date to keep up appearances, so she did. It was the most uncomfortable night of her life. The boy was a few years older than her and just wanted sex. She was adamant about the girls not setting her up again and they seemed to understand that she no longer trusted their judgment in men, not that she trusted their judgment in the first place. It was lonely.

She did agree to go out with the girls to a bar. That was something she normally didn’t do. She wasn’t twenty-one yet and she only drank to be sociable, and she wasn’t feeling sociable. She was trying to make it clear to her co-workers that she did not want to be friends with them but, they didn’t seem to take the hint. On this particular night that they had invited her to go to the same bar that Boyd frequents after work. She agreed. Boyd wasn’t the only one that could plan things to his advantage. She drove herself to the bar to meet them so she could leave when she wanted. She pulled up just as the others were getting out and they all walked in together. Boyd had quit the mine just like she asked but, didn’t talk about what he was doing for his father. She didn’t want to know the details anyway. Whatever it was it caused him to get drunk at least twice a week. Sure enough when they walked in Boyd was sitting at a barstool alone. He looked up when the group of giggling girls walked in and momentarily looked surprised to see her. She sent a brief smirk his way because surprising Boyd wasn’t something that happened too often.

What she hadn’t been expecting was for Stacey to walk right up to Boyd and start flirting with him. Eleanor shared a glance with Stacey’s sister Monica because seriously, they had been in this bar for thirty seconds. Was she really that much of a slut? She watched Stacey lean over so Boyd could see her cleavage. Eleanor felt a spike of jealousy, which she quickly masked. Monica went over to her sister to get her to tone it down this evening. Eleanor followed her to the bar so she wouldn’t be standing in the middle of the doorway awkwardly with Millie.

“Hey Eleanor” Boyd greeted her immediately, looking almost contrite.

“Hello Boyd” she greeted coldly, letting him know she was not pleased even though Stacey was at fault.

“How do you two know each other?” Stacey asked, still smiling at Boyd.

“We went to school together.” Eleanor told her.

“Oh, that’s nice” Stacey said. Finding out that Boyd was four years younger than her did not seem to deter her in the slightest. “What is it that you do Boyd?”

“Odd jobs mostly” Boyd answered. Stacy didn’t seem to know who Boyd was. Millie suddenly looked alarmed when she figured out who he was.

“I’m over at the Wal-Mart; I’m saving up to go to school some day.” Monica raised an eyebrow slightly at that comment.

“I think I’m going to get a table, nice meeting you Boyd.” Monica said taking her sister gently by the arm and steering her away.

“Boyd, why don’t you join us?” Stacey invited, smiling widely. Boyd looked over at Monica, whose expression was bordering on hostile, and Millie who looked scared of him. Eleanor gave a barely perceivable shrug.

“Thanks for offering but I was just about to leave.” Boyd smiled and turned back to his drink. They sat at the table and ordered their drinks. They chatted and some boys came over to talk with Stacey. Eleanor tried not to be jealous of Stacey, seriously she wasn’t that pretty. Boyd didn’t leave immediately like he said he would. He sat there nursing the one drink for at least thirty minutes before finally paying his tab and walking out the door.

            Eleanor dug around in her purse as if looking for something. “Shit!” she exclaimed. Millie looked over at her concerned. “I don’t have my wallet; I’m going to see if it fell out in my car or something.” Eleanor explained and got up and walked outside before they could say anything. Once outside she quickly looked around for Boyd. She spotted his truck in the back of the lot. She started towards it. When she got closer she heard a muffled thud and a groan. She was suddenly acutely aware of the darkness and how far away from the bar she had come. She kept walking though, behind the truck she saw three boys beating the crap out of Boyd. Boyd was on the ground curled up, trying to protect his body as one of the boys kicked him like a dog. None of them had noticed her yet. The boy closest to her had a gun tucked into his pants. In one quick motion she stepped forward and pulled out the gun then stepped back out of reach.

“Hey, step back!” she yelled. The boy she had disarmed looked shocked as his hands went to his pants looking for the gun.

“Little girl, that gun looks big in your hands, why don’t you just put it down.” The boy that had been kicking Boyd spoke to her as if she were a child.

“I told you to step away from him.” Eleanor pointed the gun directly at him this time. Raylan had taught her how to shoot the summer they were sixteen, she was a pretty good shot but, she hadn’t practiced the quick draw he liked so much. she was already holding the gun so the quick draw wasn’t important. The boy put his hands and the air and took a single step backwards, laughing at her.

“I stepped back, just like you asked.” He was grinning now.

“Not far enough, all three of you go over to that tree, now!” she said forcefully. She hoped she wouldn’t have to fire a shot because that would draw to much attention. Thankfully, the boys obeyed and went to stand farther away. “Boyd, can you walk?”

“Yeah” he croaked and picked himself up off the pavement.

“Start heading to my car” Eleanor ordered.

“Good thing your little whore was here to rescue you Crowder!” one of the boys called. Eleanor walked backwards, not wanting to turn her back on those boys and helped Boyd get in the car. The boys didn’t move but, they were laughing as though this was pretty hilarious. She didn’t find it funny. She drove away from the bar heading to her house, no one should be there. She hoped the girls wouldn’t be to upset that she had ditched them.

Eleanor almost drove to her old home, she was so distracted. When she had started working they had been able to rent a place. She and Jacob had their own rooms finally. When Eleanor pulls into her driveway she is relieved to see no other cars. She just didn’t want to explain this to her family right now. Boyd walked inside by himself but, was leaning heavily on her for support, it was slow going.

“What was all that about anyway?” Eleanor asked.

“This new outfit from Frankfort’s trying to establish themselves in the region. They want to work with my Daddy but, he doesn’t trust them.” Boyd answered.

“Well I’m sure that this stunt will make them seem so much more trustworthy.” Eleanor said sarcastically. She led him to her bedroom and maneuvered him on to the bed.

“It’s not too bad” Boyd said. Eleanor raised her eyebrow skeptically. She yanked up his shit before he could protest. His chest was just beginning to bruise. “Nothing’s broken; I know what broken ribs feel like. You got there pretty quick, before things started breaking.” Boyd looked at her intensely, and Boyd was a pretty intense person, and it made her kind of uncomfortable. She felt like he was looking up at her on a pedestal. She turned away suddenly and went to the bathroom to wet a washcloth. She pressed it to his split lip gently. He reached up to hold her wrist and looked into her eyes.

Boyd gently pushed the washcloth away and pressed his lips to hers. She kissed back gently trying not to hurt his lip more than it already was. Boyd didn’t seem to care as he deepened the kiss and their tongues explored. She dropped the washcloth completely and pushed him back onto the bed. Eleanor hovered over him, trying not to hurt him. Boyd pulled her to him forcefully and dragged his fingers through her hair. She smiled into the kiss and moved her hand down to his jeans and started working on his jeans. Which would not come undone. She sat up in annoyance and used both hands to finally unclasp them before going back to kissing him and slid her right hand down his pants to rub his hard-

“Is anybody home?” someone yelled, completely derailing that chain of thought. Eleanor let out a straggled noise in the back of her throat as she recognized her brother’s voice.

“If we’re real quiet, he’ll never know we were here” Boyd whispered in her ear.

“Eleanor, I saw your car outside. Are you in your room?” Jacob yelled. When there was no response they could hear Jacob walking towards Eleanor’s room. Eleanor jumped off Boyd like he was on fire and locked her door just as Jacob arrived.

“Come on, what could you possibly be doing in there? Are you braiding your hair?” Jacob teased.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a Tommy’s tonight?” Eleanor called through the door.

            “He got sick, so his mom drove me back here. Are you making dinner?”

            “Make your own dinner!” Eleanor yelled at him. Jacob rattled the door handle, why was he so annoying!

“What are you doing that’s so important? Do you have a boy over or something?” Jacob was teasing. She knew this because she wasn’t the type of girl that had boys over, or the type of girl that boys even paid attention to. In the silence that ensued Jacob seemed to get his answer.

“Holy shit! You do don’t you? I’ll just go” Jacob literally turned tail and ran out of the hallway.

Eleanor turned to Boyd, “I’m so sorry about that” she said, embarrassed. Boyd was sitting up on the bed and had already zipped up his pants.

“I got a little brother too; at least the door was locked.” Boyd said in understanding. “I should go” he added.

“Yeah, that’s probably best” Eleanor agreed. Boyd sighed and turned away from the door. “Where are you going?”Eleanor asked in confusion.

“The window?” Boyd answered looking startled.

“Jesus Christ, you’re not going out the window.”

“But that’s what secret boyfriends do” Boyd joked.

“I don’t care if Jacob sees you.” She told him. Boyd raised an eyebrow as if to say he wasn’t ready for anyone to know about this yet. “He’s good at keeping secrets.” She added. Boyd nodded and followed her out the door.  She found Jacob straightening the pillows in the living room. His cheeks were red. She had never seen him this embarrassed before.

“Jacob, this is Boyd.” Eleanor introduced him. Boyd was staring at his shoes and only looked up at her brother briefly to give a smile that looked more like a grimace and an awkward wave. She stood wringing her hands and watching her brother’s face closely. Jacob seemed shocked but, quickly recovered.

“Well at least he has all of his teeth.” Jacob teased with a smile and managed to diffuse the tension. Eleanor laughed awkwardly.  “Are you staying for dinner?” Jacob addressed Boyd. Boyd looked up at her in surprise, looking like a deer in headlights.

“I can make spaghetti” Eleanor offered hopefully.

“I guess I can stay” Boyd said hesitantly.  Eleanor grinned and made her way to the kitchen. Boyd followed so that he wouldn’t be left alone with her brother. Boyd helped her cook even though spaghetti wasn’t hard to make. Jacob came in as soon as the water started to boil because apparently whatever that was on TV was not as entertaining as the secret relationship in the kitchen.

“So how long has this been going on?” he asked. Boyd looked over at her questioningly. She shrugged, she had never lied to her brother before and she didn’t plan on starting now. Besides she wanted them to get to know each other.

“A couple months” she answered.

“And no one knows about it?”

“No, and you can’t tell anyone, especially Mom”

He held up his hands in mock surrender, “I’m not telling Mom” he assured her. They shared a glance, knowing how Mom would take it if she was dating a Crowder. They had dinner together, and it felt like she had a regular boyfriend for once. After dinner Eleanor drove Boyd back to the bar so he could pick up his truck.

 


	19. Chapter 19

_September 2010, Frankfort_

They were kept in the room all day. Boyd had yet to wake up even though it must have been hours later. Emily had lost track of time. She sat on the aged vinyl flooring and felt terrified. The past few days she hadn’t been that scared oddly enough. Boyd acted like the whole situation was no big deal and something that he could handle and that was calming. He was interesting to talk to and that made the hours pass easier. Now the only sound that broke the silence was Boyd’s labored breathing. He was in bad shape and had developed a fever that was only going to get worse. For the first time since Boyd had arrived she wondered if she was going to make it out of this alive.

“Crowder still isn’t awake. It looks like you’re going to have to think of something else.” One of their kidnappers was speaking on the other side of the door.

“It’ll still work, just sooner than I had planned. The police are already looking for Crowder because of the bombing. His fingerprints are on the gun and we can sprinkle a little bit of his blood at the next murder. It will be so incriminating that the police will completely forget that Lori was ever a suspect. We dump his body in an alley tomorrow and the case will be closed and the charges dropped.”

“What about the girl?”

“Tonight take her back to Lexington and kill her. Leave her body where it will be found.”

_September 2010, Lexington_

 

 

Raylan was at his computer still looking over Google maps. Something about this case was bothering him. He felt like he was missing something crucial. Art had reported that the Frankfort police were searching the houses in the subdivision but, haven’t found anything. Why would the Dixie mafia hold their hostages in a suburb where nosey housewives would take notice of their comings and goings? That didn’t seem right to him, they were smarter than that. So if Boyd and Emily were held elsewhere, how did they get into the forest? He kept scrolling over the forest in aerial view. Was that a road? That was definitely a road and that looked like a cabin. A secluded cabin in the woods, this was the perfect place to start looking. After doing some digging he learned that the place was a hunting cabin owned by an Alexander Johnson. It seemed to be a fake name although there was another property on the other side of Frankfort under the name so if the cabin didn’t yield much information then he would check out the other place.

“Art?” Raylan knocked on his boss’s door. “I’m not feeling so well, I think I’m just going to take the rest of the day off.” Art looked up from his paperwork.

“That stomach thing has been going around.” Art offered. Art didn’t believe that he was sick but, was giving him an out anyway. “Keep your cell on in case you need Tim or Rachel to bring you soup.” Raylan translated that into “be careful.”

“I will, thanks Art.” Raylan left an extra copy of the addresses he was going to check out on his desk just in case this thing went sideways and they needed to find him. The drive to Frankfort was rather pleasant and he listened to the radio the whole time.

The cabin was quaint, a nice little getaway. It was surrounded by forests to isolate the inhabitants from the world. He knocked at the cabin but, there was no answer. He hadn’t expected anyone to be here. If Emily and Boyd had been here they would have moved them by now, or killed them. He hoped that wasn’t the case. He briefly entertained the thought of breaking in and checking it out. This wasn’t his case and he wasn’t supposed to be investigating it anyways so he settled with peering into the windows. The cabin had only the necessities and there was nothing suspicious that would give him probable cause for entering. He would check out the apartment listed under the same name and would hopefully encounter a person to talk to because this case was going nowhere and they were running out of time. They had Boyd so how much longer did they need to keep Emily?

As he approached his car he noticed something on the ground that looked suspiciously like blood. Raylan clenched his jaw before getting into the car and driving to the apartment that would hopefully yield more information.

  

_May 1990, Harlan_

 

Boyd had gone to Virginia with Richard, one of Bo’s lieutenants, to observe as he negotiated a deal. It was a job he had actually enjoyed, it used words not guns. He liked words. When the job was done they drove back to Kentucky through the night. Richard dropped him off at the house earlier than expected. No one was home. He decided to go see Eleanor, it was one in the afternoon, and no one would be home for a while. It was like they never actually had time to be together, especially since they were still keeping it secret. Jacob would cover for them sometimes which was nice of him and gave Eleanor an alibi. Last month they had driven to Somerset and had gone out to dinner. He wished they could do that here in Harlan.

Bowman had started dating Ava, who was still pining for Raylan, they would come to the house and Boyd would make them dinner. They were cute together. At least Ava was cute and polite and always thanked him for cooking because God forbid Bowman did anything helpful. She even managed to be polite even when Boyd was being an asshole. He was starting to really hate his brother. Part of it was jealously, he admitted that. Bowman had always been their father’s favorite and his hope for the future and so their father did not want him involved in anything illegal or morally questionable. Bowman actually complained about that saying he could do the job that he _wanted_ to work for their father when Boyd would give anything to get away from it all. Their father wouldn’t let Bowman in on anything so Boyd was expected to take up that slack. It wasn’t fair.

He compartmentalized his life. There was the man who wanted to see his girlfriend on the weekends and take her somewhere nice. He read books and had dreams of going to school. Then there was the man who worked and lived with violent criminals and to hold his own had to be violent and nasty in return. No one was home so he could be himself again. Boyd was in his bedroom grabbing his keys when he heard the commotion. Bo and several others trudged inside.

“Boyd, get the first aid kit” his father yelled as soon as he saw him. This was not good. When he returned to the living room with the kit he saw someone lying on the couch, blood all over his chest. Larry was in the lazy boy with a flannel over shirt tied around his arm.

“New kids hurt bad” Larry said.  When had they gotten a “new” kid he wondered? Boyd moved around the couch to get a better look. The face was pale and drawn but he still recognized it, Jacob Reed, sixteen years old.

“What happened?” Boyd asked shocked. Why was Jacob with them at all?

“Ambushed, it was those thugs working for the Bennett’s. He took two in the chest.” Bo told him. Boyd focused on the wounds. Two to the chest didn’t have a good prognosis, especially without a doctor, God forbid they do that. He got out the scissors to cut away the bloody shirt.

“Get me some towels and alcohol” Boyd ordered. When had Jacob joined up with Bo? Was it money? Boyd could have _given_ him money. If he died Eleanor would never forgive him. Jacob was a good kid he deserved so much better than this. This was on him. Boyd worked hard. He got the bullets out and the wounds patched up but, he had lost too much blood. It was too late. Jacob died two hours later. It was quiet; everyone was upset even though they didn’t know him. Boyd sat in the corner of the living room, staring at the blood on his hands.  Jacob was his responsibility.

“You did the best you could” Billy patted his shoulder.

“Boyd, you went to school with the sister right? Eleanor or something?” Bo said. “Why don’t you tell the family what happened.” Bo said with the faintest hint of a smirk. Boyd looked up in surprise at his father towering over him. He knows. He knows about him and Eleanor. He wants them to kill the messenger.

“Okay” Boyd agreed, stunned. “What should I tell them?

“Nothing specific, I’m sure they can figure it out. I’ll make sure the family gets what wages he earned.” Boyd retrieved his keys and went out to the Reed’s.  He didn’t try to get out of this job, no sense in antagonizing his father further. Bo didn’t approve of a long term relationship, a family, it was a weakness. The perfect son, the solider, didn’t have any weaknesses. Bo had made sure of that, always had. Had his father purposefully gotten Jacob killed or had he just taken advantage of the opportunity? He probably hired Jacob as an opportunity to drive a wedge in their relationship.  He had been so careful with Eleanor because he had known that Bo would make sure that it ended. He always did, he was predictable like that.

When Boyd was eight years old his aunt’s dog had given birth and had given him the smallest puppy, the runt of the litter. She had said that the puppy reminded her of Boyd. It was scrawny and an ugly brown color but, he loved that dog. One day he went out to feed it and the puppy was gone. His father had found another home for it. He was told that it was for the best to not get attached. His father had comforted him as he cried but he knew that his father wasn’t sad at all. From then on he knew not to get attached.

There was blood on his hands; he couldn’t go to Eleanor’s with her brother’s blood on his hands. He ran back inside to wash up. On his way back out the door Bo watched him. When he knocked on the door Eleanor’s mother answered.

“Eleanor’s not home” she said. She had never liked him but, was always polite.

“I actually need to speak with you ma’am.” He said. She let him inside and seemed to understand that he was about to deliver bad news. They sat across from each other at the kitchen table.

“This is about Jacob” he started, wondering how someone should tell another person that their child was dead. “I don’t know if you were aware of this but, he started working for my father very recently. Today he was hurt very badly. He didn’t make it. Somebody will be by later to give you his wages. I’m truly sorry for this great loss.”

“What happened to him?”

“I honestly don’t know. I wasn’t there. He was shot, twice in the chest.”

“They didn’t take him to a hospital.” She stated.

“No, but I think it was too late for that anyway, If there’s anything that I can do to help.” Boyd knew there wasn’t anything anyone could do but, he had to ask.

“Yes, you can stay away from my daughter.” Ms. Reed said. It hurt, a lot.

“Okay”

Boyd didn’t talk to Eleanor for over a year. He joined the army.


	20. Chapter 20

_September 2010, Frankfort_

Raylan pulled up to the apartment that was also listed under the fake name of Alexander Johnson. This place was less isolated; it was an apartment complex after all, and very rundown. Raylan parked and made his way up the stairs as he scanned the place. The building was U-shaped and two stories high with a weird beige color scheme. The pool hadn’t been used in a while but there was still water in it. Algae growing in it like a pond. As he walked past the water a plop and ripples in the water told him a frog lived in the pool. There wasn’t anyone around but he felt like he was being watched. He went to room 210 and knocked. The guy that opened the door was younger than he was expecting. He was a blonde teenager with highlights in his hair, terrible acne scars and looked like he had been up all night.

“I’m looking for Alexander Johnson, is he here?” Raylan asked. The kid blinked in confusion.

“You must have got the wrong place.” The kid said.

“Well his name is on the lease.” Raylan added. Another man came up behind the kid, a heavy set African American man with blondish white dyed hair.

“Why do you need to talk to Alex?” the man asked.

“I just need to ask him a few questions, you know him.” Raylan said. He lowered his hand casually to his hip next to his gun. He purposefully didn’t mention he was law enforcement figuring that would make this whole thing go sideways.

“Yeah he’ll be back soon, why don’t you come in and wait for him.” The man said pleasantly.  Raylan knew that something was off with these guys and he needed to get out of here. He could come back later with Tim or Rachel for backup.

“That’s okay, I don’t want to impose. I’ll just come back in a couple of hours.” Raylan gave them a friendly smile and turned to leave.

“Come inside” the man’s tone had turned darker and Raylan looked down to see a gun in his hand, held low and trained on his stomach. “Keep your hands where I can see them.” Raylan did as the man asked.

“Is this really necessary?” Raylan asked as they shut the door behind him.

“Search him” the man ordered the blonde kid. The kid pulled out his gun and badge as Raylan stood with his hands up.

“He’s a cop!” the kid exclaimed in surprise.

“I know” the man seemed exasperated with the kid.

“How did you know?” the kid asked.

“I could practically smell it” the man said dryly. The kid frowned slightly as if wondering if cops do have a certain smell as he took the gun and placed it somewhere in the never used kitchen.

“I’m actually a marshal.” Raylan felt the need to clarify as the kid came back in the room.

“You think I give a shit?” the man responded.

“Apparently not” Raylan commented.

“So what are you here for anyway?” the man asked.

“I need to talk to Alex Johnson” Raylan told him.

“What for?” the man asked, feigning curiosity. He wasn’t going to let any information slip.

“That’s for us to discuss” Raylan told him as he was instructed to sit down on a chair that was covered in a layer of dust just like the rest of the bare apartment.

“So if neither of you are Alexander Johnson what are you two doing here?” Raylan asked.

“Well, that’s for us to know and you to find out” the man mocked lightly.

“So are you waiting for him then? It’s just that I got other things to do today and I was wondering how long you two were planning on holding me.”

“I’m afraid you’re going to miss your plans because you’re going to stay here until my boss gets here to talk to you.” The man said.

“So who’s your boss? Emmet Arnett?” Raylan threw out the only name he knew in the Dixie Mafia.

“Never heard of him” the man sounded bored. Wait, what was the name Ava mentioned. O’Conner?

“Is it O’Conner?” Raylan tried again. The man’s eyes widened slightly in recognition but other than that gave no other sign. He was good.

“No” the man said.

“So O’Conner then that’s good I need to talk to him.”

“Did you come alone or do you got another cop waiting for you outside?” the man asked.

“You know what? I can’t remember” Raylan shook his head as if embarrassed.

“Cute, George go take a look outside see if there’s anyone with him.” The kid, George, nodded and went outside to follow the order. The man motioned for Raylan to stand up and he was led down a narrow smelly hallway. The man took out a set of keys and unlocked the door while holding the gun on Raylan. With the gun trained on his back he was marched in to the room. The room was bare; no windows even, the only occupants were Emily Reed and Boyd Crowder. Emily was sitting in the back left corner next to Boyd who was doing a really good impression of a corpse. Emily looked up as they came in and quickly looked away. Emily had dirt streaked across her face and her clothes were a mess. Raylan wondered how much time they had spent in the woods before they were captured.

“You’re going to wait here until the boss comes, don’t worry it shouldn’t be too long.” The man assured him. Raylan waited a moment and watched out of the corner of his eye as the man lowered the gun slightly and started to back off. Raylan knew he wouldn’t get another chance so he took it. Raylan spun around and reached for the gun in the man’s hand and forced the gun up and away from him as the man reacted. The man definitely had the size advantage and Raylan didn’t think he could keep the gun pointed away from him for long. This was his one shot so Raylan continued to struggle against the man’s strength. The man pulled the trigger in the struggle and the sound echoed in the tiny room.

The bullet went all the way through the ceiling. The gun fired again as the gun was slowly coming down towards Raylan. Then a miraculous thing happened. The chamber clicked on empty.  What kind of idiot doesn’t keep their gun fully loaded? Their eyes met in surprise as they realized that the gun was empty. The man with the dyed hair reacted first dropping his hold on the gun completely in favor of launching himself at Raylan. Raylan hit the ground, hard. The man straddled his waist and launched blow after blow to his face.

Raylan struggled to dislodge his attacker as he was being pummeled. His vision went white for a brief moment before he realized that the gun was still in his hand. Raylan crashed the gun into his attacker’s temple hard enough to knock him out. He let out a sigh of relief and pushed the dead weight off of him. This guy had to weigh a ton. Raylan staggered to his feet and realized that he was bleeding, the blood trickling into his eye and making it hard to see. He wiped the blood out of his eyes.

 Out of nowhere Raylan was tackled and brought crashing to the ground. George, the kid, had come in when he heard the shots. The kid, not experienced in hand to hand fighting, just yelled something at Raylan and punched him in the face repeatedly. The kid didn’t really know how to throw a punch. It was embarrassing. Raylan was still dazed from the previous beating and had trouble fending off the kid’s quick attack.

It stopped suddenly and Raylan sat up to see that Boyd had grabbed the kid and now had him in a chokehold. The kid was flopping around like a fish on land. Boyd held on and flipped the kid on his stomach to keep him down. They waited as the kid’s struggling got weaker and finally he went limp. Boyd immediately released the kid and his body slumped to the ground. Boyd sat back and closed his eyes breathing heavily. Raylan could see that the lower half of his shirt and his pants were drenched with blood in various stages of drying.  He couldn’t see exactly how bad it was. He went forward to check on his old friend.

“You came” Boyd wheezed through his clenched teeth as Raylan came forward and knelt in front of him.

“Yeah well” Raylan shrugged even though Boyd’s eyes were still closed and he wouldn’t see the movement. “How bad is it?”

“Just a pocketknife but, with us traipsing through the forest it got infected.” Boyd croaked.

“Emily you okay?” Raylan looked her over and she seemed shaken but not hurt.

“No, I’m fine now” she sighed in relief and rubbed her cheeks amazed that the ordeal was over. Emily looked to him in amazement then rushed forward to envelope Raylan in a tight hug.

“I thought I was going to die here.” Emily murmured. Raylan held her close for several moments before he pulled away.

“Can you check that kid; see if he’s got a pulse?” Raylan asked. Emily nodded and wiped her tears away and crept forward to the kid and placed two fingers on his neck.

“He’s alive.” She said. Raylan got his cell and called for an ambulance. Then he called Art.

“I found them” he said when Art picked up.

“You what?” Art yelled.

“They were at that second address I was checking out the one on Preston.  Anyway do you know whose case this is?”

“You found Emily?” Art asked again

“Yeah and Boyd’s here too and he’s hurt. I already called an ambulance.”

“This address on your desk, Preston Avenue?”Art asked.

“Yeah”

“Raylan are you okay? You sound kind like you got one foot in the grave.” Art was always very perceptive.

“I’m fine.”

“I’ll call Frankfort PD and I’m sending Tim and Rachel to you.”

“Why? This isn’t marshal business.”

“They are there to ensure that you get your ass back here in a timely manner.” Art hung up on him.

            “Frankfort PD is on their way.” Raylan told them. When Boyd didn’t respond Raylan reached over and shook his shoulder. He checked his pulse. It was there but weak. Emily looked on with concern etched in her face.

“He’ll be okay” Raylan reassured her.

“Can I talk to my mom” Emily asked.

“Of course” Raylan had almost forgotten that Eleanor still needed to be told the good news. Raylan dialed the number and held his phone out to Emily. She was hesitant not really knowing what she was going to say to her mom.

“You found anything?” Eleanor said into the phone knowing that it was Raylan who called. Whatever she had planned to say she had forgot when she heard her mother’s voice.

“Mom it’s me” Emily choked out. Raylan felt uncomfortable eavesdropping on the emotional conversation. He pretended not to hear what was being said as he unbuttoned Boyd’s shirt to determine where exactly he was injured. Despite his captivity and escape through the woods every button on the man’s shirt was buttoned. The wound was in his abdomen and fresh blood was leaking out over the dried blood. The skin he could see was red and inflamed.

“I’m okay mom really, Raylan found us just in time.” Raylan couldn’t hear what was being said on the other side of the conversation but, it must have been extremely heartwarming since Emily was now sobbing.

“I know I love guys and I missed you so much.” Raylan could hear sirens getting closer. Raylan went to the front door so he could usher them in. Emily came to him holding out the phone.

“Mom wants to say something to you.” Raylan took the phone surprised; he figured they would want to spend every second they had with Emily.

“Thank you so much I know Emily’s safe because of you.” Eleanor’s voice sounded hoarse over the phone. Raylan was uncomfortable around all these crying women.

“I didn’t do much” Raylan told her.

“So what happens next, when do we get to see her?”

“Well the police aren’t here yet so they’ll have to investigate I’m sure they’ll keep you apprised but Emily will be in good hands.” The ambulance pulled into the apartment’s lot. “I’m going to put Emily back on the line.”

“Is that an ambulance?” Eleanor asked quickly

“Yeah, Boyd hurt, I’m sure he’ll pull through.”

“How bad is he?”

“Bad”

“You make sure they take care of him and don’t try to pin any of this stuff on him”

“I’ll do my best” Raylan said before handing the phone back to Emily and waving in the EMT staff. Frankfort PD arrived as they were loading Boyd in the back of the ambulance. Raylan had to explain several times to several different people what exactly he was doing here and who he was. They had wrapped a blanket around Emily and one detective was questioning her. She looked like she was going to drop off to sleep right there.

 


	21. Chapter 21

_February 1992, Harlan_

 

 

Eleanor didn’t blame Boyd for her brother’s death not really. It was a shock of course and it was devastating to her family. She blamed Bo for getting Jacob involved with whatever they were doing at the time. Bo deserved the blame. The man had ruined a lot of lives and hadn’t paid the price for any of them. Her mother blamed Boyd since he was the one to deliver the news. She cursed his name at least twice a day and it hurt to hear it each time. They planned the funeral as friends and neighbors gave their sympathies constantly. She didn’t even know most of the people who knocked on their door. They were trying to help she knew that but it was invasive and she wished they would just go away. The only person that stopped by to actually help was Raylan’s Aunt Helen. She didn’t pity them and helped them get back on their feet.

Eleanor was so focused on her mother that it was about a week before she heard the Boyd was gone. She found out by overhearing the girls gossiping at work. He had joined the army. She understood why he had done it. She had to grieve that loss in private at a time when she just wanted him there to hold her. She moved on. She even started dating. Then her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, she wasn’t even a smoker. She passed away six months later. The medical bills left Eleanor with nothing.

Again Helen stepped in and gave her a place to stay. It was a trailer that she had inherited form her grandmother and hoped to one day sell but it was a ramshackle trailer on a small, infertile out of the way plot of land  so she wasn’t optimistic about ever getting rid of it. She had been living there for a little of a year when she heard, again through the grapevine, that Boyd had returned. Boyd still avoided her like the plague so she had to go find him out at Johnny’s father’s bar.  Boyd was relieved to find that she harbored no ill will towards him.

The trailer was isolated enough that no one noticed if Boyd Crowder slept there a few nights a week. With privacy their relationship resumed and was better than before. Eleanor had her own place and still worked at Wal-Mart but, had been promoted assistant manger. It was a stretch to say she was happy but, she was content. So obviously something had to ruin it. She missed her period. She went down to the store and looked for one of those home pregnancy tests. Eleanor stole it. She had never stolen anything in her life but, the thought of going up to the counter with it made her queasy. Especially since Stacey was working the counter everyone would soon know and ask her all sorts of uncomfortable questions. 

The home pregnancy test confirmed it. She was pregnant. The next few days were sheer panic. She didn’t want to tell Boyd but, he had a right to know. She couldn’t raise the kid. She couldn’t afford it, babies were expensive. She could give it up for adoption but, she wanted to know what it looked like, what the kid’s personality was. Okay, so she wanted to keep it but she still couldn’t afford it. Maybe Boyd could be involved somehow, presumably he had money. Money obtained through various illegal things. Maybe Boyd could quit and do something respectable, of course that would mean digging coal and she couldn’t mention that because he would probably do that for her. No she had gotten involved with Boyd having a very good idea what he did for a living. That was okay really, she had made her peace with that, and she was a pragmatist after all. Did this shit really need to go on to the next generation? This child will forever be marked with the actions of the past.

Eleanor was startled out of her thoughts by a knock. She had told Boyd to come over but, now that he was here she wasn’t ready. She opened the door with a strained smile Boyd was on the door step wearing nice clothes.

“Why don’t we go out tonight?” he asked as soon as she opened the door. He liked to be romantic and surprise her. It was cute really.

“What’s wrong?” he asked when he saw her face.

“I have something to tell you” once they were seated on the couch Eleanor said “I’m pregnant.” She had spent enough time with Boyd to be able to read him like a book, a complex and enigmatic book, so she knew that his first response was excitement. Then he moved on to the practicalities of that statement and his expression became troubled.

“I haven’t told anyone else.”

“What do you want to do?” Boyd asked her knowing that she must have been sitting on this information long enough to make some decisions.

“I want to keep it other than that, I am open to suggestions.” Boyd breathed a sigh of relief.

“Do you want to get married?”

“I don’t want your father to know about the baby.” Eleanor admitted.

“That’s probably for the best.”

“He scares me Boyd.”

“He scares a lot of people.”

“In a perfect world I would want to get married to you and have a beautiful wedding with all of our family and friends there to watch and raise this child together.”

“But you don’t want the kid associating with my family and neither do I. If I’m out of the picture that means that you will be a single mother with a child out of wedlock with limited income and we have all seen how that story plays out. Do you have any family outside of Harlan wasn’t your mother form West Virginia or something? Someone you could stay with?”

“Virginia and she talked like she had a big family but never really mentioned any of them specifically.”

“Wasn’t Raylan’s Aunt Helen a good friend of your mother’s maybe she’ll know more?” Eleanor wanted to cry leaving Harlan was always something she had thought about but not like this.

“I have some money stashed away, almost seven grand.”

“Boyd if you have seven grand why don’t you go to school or something.”

“It’s always been too late for me.”

“Come with me, forget about looking up long lost family we’ll pick a city and move please come with me.” Boyd thought about it for a long time it was long enough that if she didn’t know Boyd so well she would have been insulted at the length of time he took to ponder the suggestion.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. My Daddy has a plan for me and if am not here to fulfill it than he will come looking for me. He has ways of finding people.”

“How do you know he’ll come after you?” Eleanor asked. Boyd took her hands in his and looked very much like a sinner about to confess.

“I tried to run away when I turned eighteen.” Boyd admitted. Eleanor couldn’t remember Boyd being gone for any length of time. “I was only gone for five days and I was in St. Louis at the time.” Eleanor did remember when it must have happened. Boyd cradled broken ribs every day that summer. He refused to talk about what happened.

“Boyd-“ Eleanor wasn’t sure what she wanted to say but he cut her off before she managed to say anything.

“You deserve a fresh start and that’s what I’m going to give you.” Boyd looked so serious and deeply sad that Eleanor wasn’t sure if he would ever recover.  “I’ll stop by and give you that money tomorrow and you can go see Helen.”

 

 

 

 

Eleanor knocked on Helen’s door the next evening. Her bags were packed, waiting for her back home. Boyd had come by earlier to say goodbye and to give her the money.

“Eleanor Reed it’s been a while since I last saw you.” Helen’s weathered face smiled.

“Yes ma’am” Eleanor said politely as she was ushered in.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“No thank you, I was hoping to have a word.”

“Well what do you want to talk about?” she said as they both sat down at the kitchen table. Helen poured herself a little bourbon.

“Well, I know you were friends with my mom and I was wondering if she ever spoke about her family in Virginia to you.”

“She had an Aunt Bertie that came down to visit a couple of times when you were young. I meet her once real sweet lady. What brought this on? Your momma passed on two years ago.”

“I’m actually going to be leaving town and I was hoping to connect with family.”

“Why?” Helen asked and under the gaze of the formidable woman Eleanor felt compelled to tell someone her secret and she trusted Helen.

“I’m pregnant, and there’s nothing for me here.”

“Is it Boyd’s?” Helen always seemed to know everything.

“How?” Eleanor started to ask.

“He was always real sweet on you and I know you fancied him, who knows why.” Helen waved her hands in exasperation as if to say love is blind.

“It’s his” Eleanor confirmed.

“Have you told him?”

“Yes.”

“And he’s okay with you going away” Helen must have gleaned something from her expression.

“He’s doing the right thing, letting you go Honey, I know it doesn’t feel like it now but, this is the best choice for the both of you.” Helen said. She was a wise woman.

“I know.”

“Well I wish the best of luck. Look up Bertie Creason from Richmond Virginia. Wait here I have something to give you.” Helen said as an afterthought and left the kitchen to go find something.

“That’s not necessary.” Eleanor protested but, Helen was determined she came back with a small wooden box.

 “It’s not much only three hundred and forty five dollars.”

“I can’t accept this.” She said as Helen placed the box gently in her hands.

“When Raylan wanted to leave I had very little saved up but Boyd gave me some money and now Raylan’s at college and has a job bartending and he’s doing fine and now you are the one that needs it.”

“Thank you, you have been so good to me these last few years” Eleanor was crying again and embraced her and took the little box with her.

 

 

 

_A few days later September 2010, Lexington_

When Eleanor navigated the hospital corridors she didn’t quite know what to expect. Emily was the one who insisted on the three of them coming. She was right they should visit Boyd in the hospital. Eleanor owed him much more than that; it was a debt was so big it couldn’t be repaid. Unfortunately, Eleanor had no idea what she would say to him after all this time. Emily was thrumming with energy like a Chihuahua. Emily had this grand idea that they would exchange numbers and she would go to Harlan to visit her father over the summer or something. She seemed dead set on visiting the legendary birthplace of such interesting people. On one level it was great she wanted to get to know Boyd outside of a high stress hostage situation but there was still the part where he was a criminal that associated with other criminals that were worse than he was. She needed to think about what this looks like to the outside world. It didn’t look good. Jake on the other hand looked terrified to be here. Emily had practically dragged him out to the car.

Eleanor poked her head into the room that he was occupying to see Raylan standing on the wall opposite the bed. He was leaning all his weight on the wall with one cowboy boot extended in front of him. The hat was sitting low on his head hiding his face. He looked like he had just stepped out of Deadwood. She was relieved. She knew how to handle Raylan. Boyd was asleep or unconscious, a man who never stopped moving lying perfectly still in on the bed in a disconcerting tableau. She was a tiny bit relieved; she wouldn’t have to think of anything to say to him. That was an awful thought.

“How are you holding up?” Raylan asked when he caught sight of Emily.

“Good actually” Emily replied. It was true she was doing well. She had nightmares and flinched at sudden noises and spent most of her time outside. The psychologist she had been seeing said she was recovering remarkably well. Emily had said that for the most part she wasn’t all that scared because Boyd had been so confident that they would get out. Boyd just had a way about him. You always knew that when the shit hit the fan he would be okay after all the smoke cleared.

“Have the doctors said anything about his condition?” Emily asked.

“Just that he’s going to make it” Raylan said, as if there was any doubt. They four of them stood awkwardly staring at the room’s occupant. There were no flowers in the room, no get well cards, and no balloons. It was bare and sterile and smelled a little bit like death. There was no police presence at the door. Boyd would slip out the minute he was awake. No one made any move to stand closer to Boyd or to hold his hand or do any of that stuff families do in a time like this. Emily look worried seeing him like this. Jake looked curious as though the man was an oddity at the circus. Raylan was simply waiting for him to wake up so they could continue their banter right where they left off. Eleanor wondered what her own face looked like.

“When are you going back to Richmond?” Raylan asked after an eternity.

“Tomorrow” She answered.

“What’s Emily going to do?”

“Rest for a while before making a decision about college” Eleanor said.

“I’m standing right here.” Emily said but she didn’t sound like she minded her mother talking for her all that much. “I’m going back to UK but I might do it next semester instead of playing catch up this semester.” She said.

“Good you shouldn’t give up on your plans just because of some assholes like the Dixie Mafia.” Raylan told her.

“Has he woken up at all?” Jake finally spoke.

“Not since he’s been here” Raylan said. Emily didn’t look worried. Jake didn’t seem convinced that Boyd’s prognosis was good. They only stayed twenty minutes. Eleanor asked Raylan to call when Boyd woke up. They went to the hotel to back and were on the road the next morning. Leaving the past to be forgotten once more.


	22. The End

 

 

_November 1995, Richmond Virginia_

 

Eleanor looked up Bertie Creason in the Virginia phonebook. She was happy to hear from Eleanor and quite happy to let her stay with her in Richmond for a while. Aunt Bertie was an old lady whose family rarely came to visit and so was glad of the company. Eleanor ended up living there for several years. She ended up having twins which was a rather unpleasant surprise. She was terrified to be having one kid let alone two. Aunt Bertie loved the kids and was happy to let them all stay in the big empty house. One Saturday afternoon when the kids had just turned three there was a knock on the door. Eleanor was in the kitchen making lunch. Bertie came and said there was a young man at the door here to see her.

It was Boyd. He had let his hair grow out longer and it still stood up straight just like in high school. He looked a little more weathered and a little more haunted but, when he saw her his face lit up in a wild and joyful grin. His teeth were ridiculously white. His grin was contagious and she felt herself smiling along with him. Eleanor never fell out of love with Boyd, it just wasn’t meant to be, and so she simply buried the feelings at the Harlan county line. With him on her doorstep she felt it return.

“Come on in” Eleanor said. Boyd looked surprised to be invited in so quickly. He hadn’t been expecting a warm reception and no doubt had several compelling speeches lined up in order to convince her to let him in. She was a little disappointed she wouldn’t get to hear the speeches. Boyd was a charismatic speaker when he wanted to be. Bertie had come into the living room curious about this strange man. Eleanor made introductions.

“This is Boyd, Emily and Jake’s father.” Bertie’s demeanor instantly changed. Eleanor rarely spoke of the kid’s father so Bertie had drawn up her own conclusions. She knew that they had stayed in contact until the twins were about six months old. Boyd had told Eleanor that they needed to cut ties and move on. After the break-up Eleanor moped around the house and Bertie assumed the worst about Boyd.

“The twins are upstairs napping.” Eleanor was strangely excited at the prospect of introducing the kids to their father.

“I don’t want to bother them.” Boyd was suddenly unsure now that he was here. His hands were in his pockets and his shoulders were hunched to make himself smaller.

“Its fine they probably aren’t actually asleep anyway.” Eleanor said. Bertie looked like she was about to protest but, Eleanor shot her a glare knowing this would probably be the only time Boyd would get to see them. “Come on upstairs.” Eleanor lightly touched his elbow to urge him to follow her. Bertie huffed and stomped rather theatrically into the kitchen. Boyd looked down at his shoes in hesitation knowing that he was not welcome in the woman’s home.

“Hey, don’t worry about her right now.” Eleanor whispered in his ear to reassure him. They went to the end of the hallway where Eleanor knocked on the door of the bedroom the twins shared.

“We’re sleeping.” Jake called through the closed door. Eleanor rolled her eyes and opened the door anyway. The room was painted a light blue since Eleanor always thought that blue was a girl color too and resented all baby girl things being pink. The two small beds were on opposite walls. There was a bookshelf that held all sorts on children’s stories. Toys were strewn all over the floor. Both kids were sitting up in their beds staring at Boyd with curious eyes.

“There’s someone I want you to meet.” Eleanor grabbed his arm and drew him forward. “This is Boyd.”

“I’m an old friend of your Mothers.” Boyd interjected. Eleanor looked briefly surprised but, she figured it was probably for the best not to tell the kids who he really was. Boyd didn’t seem to know what to do. He was simply staring at the kids, speechless. They did look a bit like him, hazel eyes and unruly dark hair. Emily seemed to have inherited his love of speech, she chattered on about everything. Jake stared back at him with a frown. No one seemed to know what to say. What are you supposed to say in a situation like this? The silence was interrupted with a sharp knock on the door. Boyd flinched slightly at the loud sound. Four pairs of eyes turned to see Aunt Bertie by the door.

“Lunch is ready.” Bertie glared at Boyd. Emily leaped out of bed and ran out the door. Jake followed his sister at a slower pace. He carefully stepped around Boyd and watched him for any sudden movement. Bertie left, herding the kids downstairs.

“They’re shy around strangers.” Eleanor said to explain the three-year-olds behavior.

“It’s a good habit to have.”

“How are you doing?” she asked.

“I get by.” Boyd shrugged, he seemed downtrodden.

“Why did you come here today Boyd?” she asked.

“I did something recently that was very bad and I just… I needed to know that we made the right decision. I need to know I did something good.” He admitted wearily. She had always wondered about what if. What if she had stayed but, now was not the time for that. Boyd needed to be reassured that they were okay even if he wasn’t.

“I’m happy here, you did good Boyd. Bertie has been so kind to us and great with the kids. I got a good job and I’m saving my money. Emily and Jake are happy and healthy. They have good schools in this area. We are doing just fine.”

“I set up a joint account in their names, for college.” Boyd’s voice was a whisper now.

“Thank you.”

“I doubt I’ll be able to visit again. I have to be somebody else to survive.” Boyd looked devastated. Eleanor wasn’t sure exactly what he was getting at but she hugged him fiercely knowing that he needed comfort.

“You do what you have to.” Eleanor mumbled wishing for some way to make this better.

“The terrifying part is; I’m so good at pretending to be another person.”

“For right now you can just be you, why don’t you eat lunch with us.”

“I can’t stay long. I told them I was going to Virginia Beach so I need to go there and buy souvenirs for everyone.”

“Just stay for lunch.” Eleanor smiled at Boyd’s planning; it was just like him, making a lie the truth. They went downstairs and sat at the table. The kids had sandwiches and used their tiny hands to pick up the food. Boyd hadn’t really been around kids so he found them rather fascinating. Bertie gave him a look when he sat down that clearly said that she had expected him to be gone by now. Eleanor shot her a pleading look while she slides a piece of lasagna onto Boyd’s plate.

 “So Boyd what brings you to Virginia?” Bertie asked with false politeness.

“I was visiting family in Norfolk.” Boyd said which was a blatant lie. Bertie couldn’t tell.

“They must be glad to see you.”

“I hope so.”

“Where’s Norfolk?” Emily asked.

“Near the beach.” Boyd told her.

“I want to go to the beach Mommy, can we go!” Emily asked excitedly.

“Maybe this summer.” Eleanor didn’t want to promise anything.

“Please! I want to swim in the ocean! And make a seashell necklace! And talk to a mermaid!” Emily had put her sandwich in her lap and was practically bouncing in place.

“There sharks in the ocean.” Jake reminded his sister.

“So” Emily said, obviously sharks would not deter her.

“Why don’t we save swimming in the ocean until you’re older” Eleanor suggested. And for when her daughter could actually swim.

“So what is it that you do Boyd?” Bertie asked.

“I work at my father’s grocery store.” Boyd lied smoothly.

“That’s boring.” Emily scrunched up her nose in distaste.

“Yes it is” Boyd agreed. He smiled at her expression.

“Why do you do it then?” she asked.

“My Daddy would be sad if I didn’t help him.”

“I don’t have a daddy” She said. Eleanor watched Boyd’s face closely but there wasn’t any hint of distress.

“But, you have a pretty great Mommy right?”

“Yeah” Emily agreed.

“Everyone still needs a father though.” Bertie glared at Boyd. Eleanor shot her another look.

“All my friends have daddies” Jake entered the conversation.

“Josie has two mommies.” Emily reminded him.

“As long as you got a family, it doesn’t matter who’s in it.” Boyd said sagely. Emily and Jake both considered his words and decided he was right. They did have a family. The twins decided they were done with lunch soon after and scampered away Bertie got up to clear their plates. She glanced at Boyd just once as if she couldn’t believe he was still here. Boyd opened his mouth as if to say something but thought better of it and stared at his plate while he finished the last bites of his lasagna.

“I should go.” he said as soon as he was finished.

“You don’t have to.”

“I should though.” Eleanor nodded in understanding.  Bertie came in to take their plates.

“Thank you for lunch.” Boyd said as she passed. She gave no indication that she had heard him. Boyd stood up and went to the front door. Boyd was ready to leave but she wasn’t quite ready for him to go yet.

“You know what; let me give you some pictures to take with you.” Eleanor grabbed his hand and led him upstairs to her bedroom.

“That’s not a good idea, how would I explain that to my wonderful family.” Boyd asked as soon as they were out of earshot of Aunt Bertie.

“Hide them in your porn stash.” Eleanor batted her eyelashes innocently.

“Johnny steals my porn stash on a regular basis.” Boyd deadpanned.

“Then hide them with your ‘shine stash out in the old Johnson farm.” Eleanor went to her bookshelf to pull out a box next to the albums where she kept extra copies of her photos.

“How did you know that’s where it is?” Boyd was surprised.

“I had to drive you out there one night.” she said. Boyd was lost in thought trying to remember the occurrence. “It was the night Raylan got really drunk and started singing American pie really loudly around the campfire.”

“I blocked out that night because of Raylan’s singing. It was the most traumatic night of my life.” Boyd didn’t have to convince her. His singing was pretty awful. They both sat down as Eleanor started to go through all the photos. Boyd watched she flip through snapshots of a life he would never be a part of. In the end he only took three. One where they were babies, ne was Halloween when they were toddlers. Emily was dressed as a Christmas present and Jake was dressed up as a cowboy. The third was recent it was taken outside in a park or something. Eleanor was holding both of her kids and all three were smiling into the camera.

He kissed her goodbye on the front porch.

“If you ever need help or need to talk or anything at all you can ask me okay?” Eleanor said, needing him to understand that she still cared.

“I won’t” he replied. Then he got into his truck and drove away. Eleanor didn’t expect to see him ever again. At most she expected she would get a phone call from Helen years from now saying Boyd had gotten himself killed. Her kids would never know their father but, she would be the best mother she could be. Maybe one day she would tell them stories of their father…or she could say nothing at all. Bertie had turned on the radio in the kitchen as she washed dishes. The opening notes of a bluegrass song came into the living room, it seemed familiar. “ _You’ll never leave Harlan alive.”_ Someone sang. Well, what did they know?

 

_The End_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fic and also my first writing endeavor that I actually finished. (I’m a procrastinator) Since the point of this project is to be a better writer I am hoping for some constructive feedback on the story, characterization, plot, dialogue, tone, pacing, writing style or anything else that you think needs to be pointed out. Constructive criticism is welcomed. Also thank you to everyone that read this story. All the comments and kudos made my day.


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